Vivien Shiah

Dr. Vivien Renée Shiah, a physician for over 35 years and a champion of the arts and philanthropy, passed away on August 26, 2026, in Manhattan. She was 71.

A woman of vigor, taste, and uncompromising standards, Dr. Shiah balanced the intense rigor of emergency medicine with a lifelong passion for global adventure, fine arts, and her family’s philanthropic legacy. As primary trustee of the C.D. Shiah Charitable Foundation, she steered the organization's portfolio with foresight, directing educational grants to honor and realize her late father’s vision. A polyglot who moved effortlessly across cultures, she spoke English, Mandarin Chinese, French, and Italian, and held medical licenses in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, and Maine.

Vivien Renée Shiah was born on March 30, 1955, in Manhasset, N.Y., to C.D. Shiah (Chyn-Duog Shiah) and Eugenia Shiah (née Shaw). Her father was a brilliant Chinese-American chemical engineer, MIT alumnus, and global oil tycoon who chaired Summit Industrial Corporation and Oceanic Petroleum Corporation. Her mother raised three children in New York and lived a vibrant life until her passing in 2019 at the age of 100.

Dr. Shiah earned her Bachelor of Science from Barnard College in 1978 and launched her career in commodities financing at Chase Manhattan Bank. Yet, ignited by a calling to heal, she boldly pivoted away from finance to pursue her ultimate dream, earning her medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1988, at a time when there was little precedent for taking a nontraditional route to medical school.

Board-certified in emergency medicine, Dr. Shiah worked as an attending in the emergency department at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She was in her element amid the high-stakes intensity of the ER, working on the front lines during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic with fierce resilience. “I loved it,” she once reflected. “It was challenging.” She later brought that empathy and expertise to the Veterans Administration, caring for military veterans and their families with unwavering dedication.

Dr. Shiah approached every facet of life with enthusiasm and discipline. A globetrotter who moved through the world with a dancer’s fluidity, she explored six continents with her family—venturing on African safaris, carving through snow in Bariloche, Argentina, and diving into the vibrant depths of the Great Barrier Reef. Whether in Lille, Paris, Taipei, Beijing, Bangkok, or on the tropical shores of St. John, she didn't just reside—she thrived.

An intrepid sportswoman, she commanded the water as a competitive sailor and member of the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club and as an expert scuba diver in many of the world’s oceans. She was also an avid skier, spending months each year in Vail, Jackson Hole, and Park City. At home, her tender side shone through as an animal rescuer and devoted "cat mother" who welcomed and nurtured countless feline companions over her lifetime.

Above all, her passion was ballet. A steadfast patron of the New York City Ballet alongside her family, Dr. Shiah was never content to simply watch from the audience; she took to the barre herself, training three times a week at Manhattan's Ballet Academy East.

Dr. Shiah’s spirit lives on through her son, James Alexandre Lehembre-Shiah; her daughter, Eugénie Alizée Lehembre-Shiah; her son-in-law, Andrew John McClintock; her cherished grandson, Rémy Shiah McClintock; her sister, Elizabeth Shiah; and her brother, Thomas R. Shiah.