Needham – Sandra Man (Chang) Lin, 77, passed away Saturday, September 13, 2014 at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston soon after a severe stroke. Close family were at her side when she passed peacefully.
She is survived by two sons, John and his wife Kyoko, Michael and his wife Cindy; four grandchildren, Casey, Sophie, Audrey, and Ichiro; four brothers, William, Shun, Nga and Jeffrey; and many close friends from her various and diverse circles of friends.
Sandra was born on October 5, 1936 in the Sun Wui district of Guangdong province in China. The daughter of educators, the late Wai Ming and Po Wing Chang, one a school teacher and the other a county educational officer and local politician, she was the eldest daughter, second eldest among seven siblings. During her childhood, her family was uprooted several times during various wars and eventually, the establishment of a Communist government, eventually settling in Cheung Chau island near Hong Kong, where she spent her teenage years.
While living in Cheung Chau, a small fishing island without automobiles, she attended the Belilios High School in Hong Kong. Life in China and Cheung Chau were difficult, but she often relied on her eldest brother, William, whose allowance money she would spend and whose back she would ride on long walks to school. She eventually moved to Taiwan for undergraduate and graduate studies in early childhood education and psychology at the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan. To this day, she maintained friendships in Cheung Chau.
In 1963, she moved to the Boston area, joining her eldest brother, then studying at MIT, living first in Belmont and then Cambridge as a home assistant to Judith Painter, a woman with multiple sclerosis. It was there that she met her future husband, Chan Kie Lin. Many suitors courted her during her time in Cambridge and yet Chan (known as John amongst friends) stood out among the rest, for his interest in her and his willingness to support and care for Ms. Painter. On June 19, 1965, Chan and Sandra were wed in a local church. Sandra was given away by her eldest brother and the outdoor reception was held in the backyard of Ms. Painter. Those who were in attendance recount that there were thunderstorms and guests scrambled for shelter. Her bridesmaid and one of his groomsmen eventually wed and they have been the closest of friends ever since.
While in Cambridge, she worked at the Harvard School of Education and eventually as a 2nd grade bilingual teacher at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School near Chinatown. She and Chan lived in Newton and eventually settled in Brookline where their two sons were born. Many of her colleagues from the Chinatown community continued to be among her closest friends through and past her early retirement to be at home to care for Chan after health-related episodes. Chan predeceased her on March 1, 1993.
Sandra eventually moved to Needham to live in the senior living community at North Hill, where she lived until her passing. Over the years, she remained well connected to family, friends from Hong Kong, church friends at the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston where she was baptized in December 2008, former colleagues in the Boston public school system and new friends at North Hill.
Sandra loved to take pictures and chronicle the events of her life and particularly, the events of the lives of those she loved. She loved flower arranging and gardening and in recent years had cultivated a night-blooming cereus, which blooms once a year for a single night, for the benefit of those in her senior living community. She was a warm, devoted, generous, and conscientious wife, mother, friend, grandmother, daughter, sister and church member and treated everyone, even the newest acquaintance, with the respect and affection of a friend. She was a friend to all and her warmth, humor, generosity and kindness will be missed dearly.
A viewing ceremony will be held at the Boston Harborside Home of JS Waterman-Langone at 580 Commercial Street, Boston on Thursday September 18 from 4-8PM. Memorial service will be held at the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston at 149 Old Spring Street, Lexington on Friday September 19 at 10AM. Light refreshments will follow the service. A private interment service will be held at the Mount Auburn Cemetery where she will be laid to rest beside her dear husband, Chan. In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston in Sandra’s name. To sign guest book online and/or directions, please visit www.bostonharborsidehome.com
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18