Liem Wie Tjoen was born on September 22, 1928, in Kudus, Indonesia, as the eighth child to Liem Tjoe Liat and Soh Ting Nio. He has 5 brothers and 3 sisters. His childhood was spent during the time of war, which compromised his education. After the passing of his father, at the age of 20, he went to Semarang by boat with a block of gold slipped in the sole of his shoe. The purpose was to get lessons & tutoring so he could continue to Mulo (SMP, junior high).
At the completion of the lessons, he flew to Surabaya, took a bus to Malang. Got off the bus, walked off pulling his heavy iron trunk with no direction. An older man stopped his car and asked where he was going and where he was going to stay. Wie Tjoen had no answers. He only knew that he came to Malang to enroll in a Mulo. The man went on asking Wie Tjoen’s name and where he was from. After Wie Tjoen told his answers, it was clear that God had sent this stranger, Mr. Tio Ma Lioe, to him. Mr. Tio was a good friend of Wie Tjoen’s oldest brother and from the same hometown. Wie Tjoen accepted Mr Tio’s offer to get into his car and to stay at his home. Mr. Tio, then, helped him finding school and settling in Malang. He finished Mulo in 1950, then moved to Bandung to enroll in AMS (high school). He graduated from high school in 1952 at the age of 24.
In the same year, Wie Tjoen started medical school at Universitas Airlangga, moved to Universitas Gajah Mada, then to Universitas Diponegoro (Undip) where he satisfactorily fulfilled his mother’s & his desire to be a physician in 1963. After he became a pediatrician in 1969, he was invited to be in the founding team of pediatric residency of his almamater, Undip. He was a fellow at Children’s Hospital Kaiserin Auguste Victoria Haus (KAVH) in Berlin from 1973-1974, which earned him to become a pediatric neurologist. He was loved by several generations of patients during his successful career as a pediatrician from 1963-2007.
God, once again, led Wie Tjoen’s life when he met Tossy Kwik in 1961 at Universitas Gajah Mada. They were married on August 20th, 1964. They are blessed with 2 daughters, 1 son and 2 grandsons. Their children and grandsons are Aiko-Stan (deceased) Liang with grandson Dillon; Daniel Karunia; Martina-Irwin Wong with grandson Max. He was a dedicated and loving husband, father and grandfather.
Upon his retirement in 2007, he and Tossy moved to the US to be with their daughters. Wie Tjoen’s daily routines included 5-mile stationary biking, cooking, gardening, taking pictures of his grandsons and the rose garden, playing with his computer, Blackberry or iPad, Facebook-ing, compiling his favorite songs in a CD and processing pictures on Picasa. His busy routines were disrupted by shortness of breath leading to the devastating diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis in December 2010. He proclaimed his acceptance of Seventh-Day Adventist belief on December 18th, 2011 when he was baptized by Pastor Hendrik Hutagaol. With God-centered heart, he maintained good spirit and outlook in life despite of the diagnosis. He and his loved ones continued to create treasured memories until the morning of April 30 th, when he slipped into a coma.
In the comfort of his home surrounded by his beloved family, Wie Tjoen took God’s hands when He called him on Saturday, May 5th, 2012 at 3:38am.
