Born: 1966 Departed: 2011
The funeral wake last nite was packed with about 100 relatives, friends and the late Ian Tan's students who were there to pay their last respect. I went there meaning to comfort and encourage Magdalene Phua (his mom, my cousin), Tan Teck Hong (his dad) and Denise Tan (his sister) but was instead encouraged by Mag's words when she stood up to thank us for our presence. Such is this woman of God who thought of nothing but to take every given opportunity to glorify God. Mag and T.Hong was left with only one daughter when they infact had 3 children. She mentioned briefly about Joanna (I still remember the joy she brought her working mom and it was also due to Jo's death that the family came to accept Christ) who died of leukemia at the age 3+... and she now lost Ian at the age of 44+...
Sharing with us, she mentioned that Ian had not been well lately. Infact, he came back to M'sia after about 10 yrs in US, due to his poor health. We knew that Ian was asthmatic from a young age. Mag mentioned age 5. I remember he never could do strenous activities and he moved around with an inhaler in his pocket all his childhood and teenage life. I observed him gasping for breath too many times while we were in our teens.
When he went on a singing tour with a group in Europe before his return to M'sia, he didn't even realised he had contracted TB which left him with only 40% (Mag wasn't sure of the %) of his lungs functioning. I think she mentioned that he only realised this after his return to M'sia, when Dr James Koh (his bro-in-law who is currently based in Melbourne, Australia) performed a chest x-ray on him.
During his last days, he had sore throat and was not feeling well but still performed a Christmas presentation with Pst Alvin Tan's church (High Praise, Subang) despite his condition. The performance went well despite his sore throat. There were details of his weak health here and there and Mag said, Ian argued with them that he doesn't want to go to hospital. Knowing his stubborn nature, he tried to put off seeing the doctor. On the day he passed on, he actually went to church, returned home and rested. That afternoon, while he rested at home, Mag received a call from him from his mobile. He called from his room and told his mom to come into his room. Mag & T.Hong found Ian on the floor with a pillow below his head and his favourite tea cup broken on the floor. He had lost consciousness and found himself on the floor but couldn't explain how the pillow got under his head. Mag said it was an act of God to protect Ian's head from any injury.
When his parents advised him to see a doctor, he refused but just asked for a change of clothes and to clean up the mess on the floor. Then he continued to take a nap for the rest of the afternoon. Mag cooked dinner that evening. When she was done, she told T.Hong to wake Ian up so he could eat something (although he hadn't had an appetite for days). Mag proceeded to take a shower after cooking. While she was in the shower, T.Hong knocked on the bathroom door & told her that "Ian was gone". She responded with "call the ambulance". The ambulance came and pronounce Ian's death. When discovered, Ian's body was already "cold".
Mag shared that she once said a prayer. She asked God to allow her to go before Ian does because she could sense that God will take Ian away before she dies. She could not bear to lose another child. But later, she realized that she had uttered a very selfish prayer because she would rather see Ian suffer than to "let him go". She asked God for forgiveness.
I personally concluded that his death was due to complications from his weak lungs. His parents never mentioned the cause of death. The miracle of it was, here was a man who had only 40% of his lungs functioning and he could sing "his lungs out" for the Lord in churches everywhere in Malaysia, the US and in Europe. Here was a man so dedicated to God that he chose to remain single so he could commit his time fully on spreading the gospel through his singing. Ian was very musically inclined. He had a powerful voice. He took music lessons in his late teens because he knew it was God's calling on his life. He spent a year under the mentorship of Pst Michael and Margaret Yap in PJ before pursuing his studies in Theology, majoring in Music Ministry, in Texas, USA.
This is the power of God revealed in Ian's life as he presented his body as a living sacrifice to God. See what the Lord can do with an imperfect body, if we are willing vessels. Here was a man who touched so many lives while teaching them to sing at ICOM and also as a private tutor at his home, not only using their voices but also their hearts. The students who stood up to say a few words about their lecturer, Ian, was evidence that he had been instrumental in moulding their young lives. When old friends from Kuantan stood and testified of the impact that Ian had in each of their lives, I cannot help but felt touched. When a god-bro named his new-born son after Ian, it was because of the gratefulness he felt for Ian for bringing him to Christ.
Yesterday evening, memories of the time I spent with Ian flooded my mind, as I recalled the wonderful times we spent in his kitchen making doughnuts (he was a good cook) and the gorgeous, mouth-watering shepherd's pie he made for us when we were starving teenagers (Secret Recipes' SP failed in comparison). Ian had a great sense of humour. He could be annoyingly funny sometimes and his laughter was infectious. I marvelled at the way he got along great with aunts and uncles triple his age, always with something sweet to say to the elderly, and the love he had for dogs was something worth mentioning! He would annoy me with the white mice James Koh (now his bro-in-law) and he had to bring to the school lab to dissect, knowing that I am fearful of rodents. He made the effort to drop-by my house, on his way to school, just to show me the white mice!
This morning as I bade farewell to my beloved nephew (who is one year older than me) who was cremated at the Kampung Tunku crematorium, I want to salute this man who had dedicated almost his entire life to serving God with his voice and his talent. His job on earth is done. While the rest of us continue to fulfil our calling on earth, I can hear God say to Ian, "well done, good and faithful servant"... "you have run the race, you have kept the faith..."
I will miss you, IAN TAN SUI PENG!
Ian's last performance at High Praise Ministries on Christmas Day 2010,
