At the tender age of 5, he was already cooking his first meal. His family had a menagerie of animals - they even had a monkey! - and he loved taking care of all of their little zoo, especially his treasured and beloved dogs.
He went on to study Chemistry at Tamkang University. He became class president, met his wife and fellow classmate Shu Chuan (Emily) Lin, and they spent many happy moments hiking, mountaineering, and eating great Taiwanese food with their friends. Shortly after graduation, Emily and Tom married in 1982. In 1983, they moved to America to pursue graduate degrees at Auburn University - Emily, her masters; Tom, his Ph.D in Biochemistry. They lived all over the east coast - from Alabama to Philadelphia; to Cherry Hill New Jersey, and finally Rockville Maryland. He loved to travel for business, and was even in United Airlines's Million Mile Club since he flew so much. Together, the family traveled to Chile, New Zealand, Taiwan and many beautiful national parks in their home country of America.
Tom was deeply devoted to his research and utilized his specialty in protein purification to further evolve the field of drug development. During the course of his career, Dr. Chen published papers, gave presentations, and co-authored a patent for "Sequential Protein Isolation and Purification Schemes by Affinity Chromatography". He was just as passionate about supporting his colleagues and mentoring aspiring scientists, and made many wonderful friendships and lasting connections. His community appreciated his patience, warmth and generosity.
Anyone who knew Tom knew that he was the most loving father and husband a family could ask for. He is survived by his wife Emily (64, retired), his children, Ruby (37, program management director at a cybersecurity company) (Spouse Thaddeus), and Stephen (30, an orthopedic resident at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) (Spouse Chelsea), and his three grand-fur-children: Gingham (Dog), Paisley (Dog) and Pumpkin (Cat). The family plans to scatter his ashes with the remains of his beloved dogs Mimi and Hana throughout beautiful national parks in the world.
A memorial service will be held on Sat July 16 at 11 am EST: in-person at Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home in Silver Spring, MD and virtually on Zoom. Flowers can be sent to Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home, c/o The Chen Family, 11800 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20904
