Celebrating the life of Dr. Samuel Yeh
Samuel D. J. Yeh, 95, died on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at his home. Born in Kunming, Yunnan, China to a devout Christian family, he was the eldest of fourteen children. His father, Yeh Chong Ji, was the secretary of the YMCA and principal of the YMCA schools in Kunming. His mother, Rui Wan Zhen was a kindergarten teacher. His American name, Samuel, was given to him by an American missionary, Eleanor Arnold Petit, whom he called Tai Tai.
After graduating from the National Defense Medical Center in Shanghai, China in 1948, he became a Chief Resident in Taipei, Taiwan. Seeking greater educational opportunities, he applied to study in the United States, eventually earning a doctorate in biochemistry from the School of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University in 1960.
Following a ten year courtship, he married Marion Huang in 1959 in Baltimore. They moved to New York in 1963 where he began his longterm career at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Until his retirement in 2007, he was a physician in Nuclear Medicine, Endocrinology and Clinical Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as well as an Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
He was also one of the three cofounding physicians at the Chinatown Health Clinic as a volunteer physician for thirty eight years and later, on its board and foundation, for a total of forty five years of service. A strong believer in community, he served as President of the Chinese American Medical Society, the Chinese American Society of Nuclear Medicine, the National Defense Medical Center Alumni Association and as Secretary of the US China Medical Exchange Committee, China Institute. He was committed to fostering global communication and collaboration in the study and research of nuclear medicine for scientists and physicians in the US, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.
He was the recipient of numerous lifetime achievement awards in addition to the Servant Healing Award from the New York Episcopal Diocese (2000); the Berson and Yalow Award from the Society of Nuclear Medicine, New York chapter (2002); and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the John Hopkins University Alumni Association (2016).
For almost sixty years, he was a devoted parishioner at the Church of the Epiphany where he served in the Vestry. He also regularly attended the Chinese Christian Fellowship at Riverside Church.
He was a man of simple tastes, known for his quirky sense of humor, thirst for learning, interest in travel but only to medical conferences; loyalty and a commitment to community outreach and service. His friends were legion:the hospital security guard, a medical secretary from his first job as a research fellow in the Nutrition department, the hospital librarian, the neighborhood pharmacist, the building handyman, medical schoolmates and all the interns, residents and fellows he trained, fellow board members, church parishioners, clinic volunteers.
He went to boarding school at age ten and perhaps this is why his school friendships at medical school especially would be longlasting, from student days in China during the Second World War, relocation to Taipei and then emigration to the United States. His medical schoolmates were as close to him as his own bloodkin brothers, from whom he was separated for more than twenty five years until diplomatic relations were established between the People’s Republic of China and the United States.
A life long learner, even in retirement, he continued to take notes on the latest research in nuclear medicine and cancer research and was a daily reader of the Bible and morning devotions, the New York Times and various Chinese daily newspapers and periodicals. A resident of Morningside Gardens, Building 5 for seventeen years, he was an enthusiastic student in Spanish class (hoping to add to Chinese, English, German, French and Russian language acquisition) and a member of the Men’s Club. When covid hit, his regrets were that he could no longer attend Grand Rounds at Memorial Hospital and services at the Epiphany. Of paramount importance to him were the college educations of his three grandchildren.
He is survived by his beloved wife of sixty two years, Marion Huang Yeh, his daughters Vivan Wen-Han Yeh of Doylestown, PA and Phoebe Wen-Chan Yeh of New York City; son-in-laws, Brendan Greer of Doylestown, PA and Richard Manzi of New York City; three grandchildren, Sam Yeh Manzi, Aidan Li Ping Greer and Nora Li Dan Greer.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2022 (his birthday) at 2 PM at the Church of the Epiphany, 1393 York Ave. at East 74th Street, New York City.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Chinatown Health Clinic Foundation, New York City; the Church of the Epiphany, New York City or the organization of your choice.
Condolences may be sent to Marion Yeh's address:
501 W 123rd St Apt 20B
New York, NY 10027-5011
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