Thomas Chan

Thomas Chan was born on March 22, 1958 in Manhattan, New York City, NY, to his father Ping Chan, and mother Yee Lum, both of whom preceded him in death. He enjoyed growing up in New York, and was always proud of his roots and identity as a New Yorker.

In 1976, Tom moved to Chicago to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), where he completed his Bachelor of Architecture in 1981. Tom was a licensed architect in the State of Illinois, and a member of the American Institute of Architects.

Tom’s first marriage, to Linda Sandoval in 1988, was blessed with the birth of their son, Michael, on July 3, 1988. Michael was Tom’s pride and joy, and his best friend.

On October 10, 2002, Tom married Jocelyn Marie Lim, and though they later divorced, he told many friends that she was the love of his life.

Tom enjoyed a long and distinguished professional career, and was widely recognized for his strong technical expertise, as well as being ethical, dedicated, disciplined, detail oriented, diligent, self motivated, and organized. He was focused and results-oriented, analytical, strategic and methodical in his work, all qualities that he was proud of and that were valued by his colleagues. Tom was an advocate of proper coordination and quality control, and was an asset to every team he worked on, both in the private and the public sectors.

Most recently, in March 2012, Tom was appointed Deputy Director of the Office of Capital Planning and Policy for Cook County, Illinois. It was his dream job. He greatly admired his new team, and was so happy with his role in the implementation and monitoring the County’s Capital Program, setting forth the plan for the design, construction and renovation of buildings and building systems countywide, and in reviewing policy as it pertains to capital construction throughout Cook County. Of all his professional positions, Tom found the most satisfaction and enjoyment in public service, and had also served with great distinction as Executive Director of Plan Examination with the City of Chicago Department of Buildings from 1998 – 2003.

Tom was also quite successful in the private sector, having served in many distinguished positions throughout the design and construction industries in Chicago, including Executive Director of Architectural Services for Milhouse Engineering; Project Executive for Afram Group, Inc. and for Mota Construction; Project Manager for R.M. Chin and Associates; Senior Associate and Project Director for STR Partners, Ltd.; and Senior Architect with the world renown firm of Lohan Associates; as well as having been a student architect with The Office of John Vinci, where he was involved with the restoration of buildings with historical significance. Tom’s list of significant projects is simply too voluminous to list.

Tom remained extremely active in alumni affairs at IIT, and was the standard-bearer of his graduating class, helping to make IIT Arch ’81 one of the most popular and cohesive alumni classes the school has known. In 2011, he organized a 30-Year Reunion event (one of many alumni gatherings that he planned) which was attended by dozens of alumni from around the world. His classmates will be forever grateful to their beloved friend for his continued dedication to keeping them in constant communication through the years, preserving the history of their shared youth, and bringing them such joy and camaraderie.

Tom had one sister, the dearly beloved Ming Lee (Sam), who recently preceded him in death. He is survived by his beloved son Michael, his brother Kam Chan, nephew Sylvester Lee (Donna), nieces Courtney and Sydney, cousin May Lam and her son Douglas Tse, cousin Cindy Fong (Albert), and their sons Timothy and Matthew, and cousin Simon Lam (Manlai).

Tom will be deeply missed by a multitude of friends and dear ones, who will always cherish his memory and take comfort in his philosophy of life, as set forth in his own words on Thanksgiving 2010:

“As we all know, there are many things and aspects in life for which we are and should be grateful for and be thankful for. They should be recognized at all times no matter what those things and aspects are. But, often due to various reasons, they are often overlooked and are sometimes taken for granted instead.

As may be agreed by many, life is a journey. It is a journey that is often filled with choices. Sometimes, based on the decisions we make as individuals, it can be a journey that leads to wonders, surprises, challenges, and much, much more. With great intent, because of my love of life and belief in peace and harmony, I choose to remember and recognize as much as I could all the little joys, the pleasantries, and the blessings in my life journey. I give recognition… and acknowledge how my life is blessed by experiencing and having the abundance of love I have for you.

Thank you for being in my life and enriching my journey.

Gratefully with love and always, Tom”