Leaena Tambyah Chelliah was born in Penang, Malaya on 28 June 1937 to The Venerable Reverend Dr Devasahayam David Chelliah and his wife Rosalind.
11 Facts About Leaena Tambyah
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Leaena Tambyah attended Raffles Girls' School, then Raffles Institution, before moving to England to earn her bachelor's degree in social science at the University of Birmingham.
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Leaena Tambyah returned to Singapore in 1960, and the next year began working as an assistant director at the Ministry of Social Affairs.
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Leaena Tambyah left her job at the Ministry of Social Affairs when she became pregnant with the first of her children.
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Leaena Tambyah then worked part-time as a social worker and volunteered extensively.
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Leaena Tambyah organized a project called TEACH ME in 1991.
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In 1984, Leaena Tambyah was awarded the Public Service Medal for her work.
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Leaena Tambyah was diagnosed with a blood disorder in March 2023.
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Leaena Tambyah later suffered a stroke in September 2023 and her two children Paul and Malini put her into palliative care.
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Leaena Tambyah died a week later, on 8 September 2023, at the age of 86.
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Leaena Tambyah was cremated at the Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium Complex and her ashes was scattered off the coast, at Changi, where she and her late husband once dated as teenagers.