Cheng-Hsien Hsu

Dr. Cheng-Hsien Hsu passed away peacefully in his care home of three years, Aegis Living in Newcastle, WA on Monday, June 28th, 2021 at the age of 79. He will be greatly missed by his children Cassandra and Michael, daughter-in-law Tanya; his grandchildren Mia, Isaac and Calvin; his brothers, Cheng Hsiung, Cheng Chi and John, his sisters, Jen-Ai Hsu, Shirley, Boai and AiAi and their spouses Liu Mei, Ming Mei and Anita, Lee-Chin, Charles, Masao and Ju Fu, as well as many extended family members and friends. Cheng was preceded in death by his beloved wife Yao Lin Hsu as well as his parents, Dr. Hong-Liou Hsu and Chen-Chen Hsu. He is now re-united with his Beloved wife and parents in glory through Jesus Christ his Lord.

Known by dad, uncle and friend to so many and Agon to his beloved grandchildren, Cheng had a wonderful childhood along with his three brothers and four sisters, of whom he was the fourth oldest. Cheng graduated from St. Viator Catholic High School in Taichung, Taiwan in May of 1959; he would graduate from Taipei Medical School in 1966. Cheng served in the Taiwan military for one year as a medical doctor and officer and worked in the Chung Hua Christian Medical Hospital for one year, until he married Yao Lin on October 27th of 1967 in Homei, Taiwan. By the end of 1967, Cheng and Yao would both immigrate to the United States where Cheng would begin a medical residency at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago.

Cheng and Yao to their delight, would have their daughter Cassandra Lin August 2nd, 1969 and their son Michael Norris May 22nd, 1971. Soon they would move to the Chicago suburbs of Clarendon Hills. In 1975, the family would move to Topeka, KS where Cheng would work for the Topeka Medical Center. These were not always easy years being Taiwanese immigrants in the Heartland of the US where very few minority people lived. In the late 1970s, a move back to Taiwan was under serious consideration. However, Cheng and Yao would persevere and open the Topeka Urology Clinic in 1980 with two other partners who had been immigrants to Kansas as well. Through spending 40 years in Topeka, Cheng and Yao would develop lifelong friendships and develop a wonderful home for their family. In 2016, Cheng and Yao, being desirous of getting closer to their son Michael, daughter-in-law Tanya and grandchildren Mia, Isaac and Calvin and also closer to Yao’s sisters Tzu Lin and Ching Lin, nephew and his family, the memory of Yao’s parents as well as two of Cheng’s nieces and their families, with their daughter Cassandra, Cheng and Yao moved to Renton, WA in the greater Seattle area. Cheng moved to Aegis Living of Newcastle during the summer of 2018 as his Lewy Body Dementia continued to progress. Aegis Living of Newcastle became his home, especially through the difficult period of the pandemic where family could only visit through a plexiglass window. However, many of the members of Aegis became his family and took great care of him, as did his friend and trainer Bernard Watkins who would visit him daily.

Cheng was known by his infectious smile as well as someone who would laugh easily, always appreciating a good joke. His bedside manner as a doctor was impeccable as someone who spoke English as his second language. Dr. Hsu had a wonderful gift of being able to put patients at ease with a smile, joking around or going over pictures of his grandchildren which were plastered all over his office walls. His grandchildren were everything to him. Dr. Hsu had a charm and a kindness that communicated through means beyond language, that as a patient, you knew you were in skilled, competent and caring hands. Cheng was also an incredible father and grandfather, being the first to rush to the hospital at the birth of his grandchildren and always being willing to give baths, change diapers and wake up early to feed the grandchildren who knew him by the name, “Agon.” There is nothing Agon loved more than providing for and serving his family.

While through many years of a Lewy Body Dementia diagnosis and progressive deterioration the family said a long goodbye, we never forgot who he had always been to us as a generous and loving father, grandfather and husband. Even as Dad deteriorated, never too far from him were the very best parts of himself. On my (Mike’s) visits to his care home, during mealtimes, even if at a loss for words, Dad would always point at me to make sure his aid worker would offer me food. When Cassandra would visit, he would ask if she had any needs. Even through the lowest points of Dad’s deterioration, he still looked beyond his own needs. Dad and his generous spirit will be greatly missed.