The 6th of 8 siblings, Lena was the daughter of Chiong Quan and Lui-Shi Quan, who originated from the Toisan region of Guangdong, China.
Lena was an outstanding student when she was young and loved learning about math and science. She received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Far Eastern University in the Philippines. She then came to the United States after receiving a teaching assistantship at the University of Dayton, where she received her Master of Science in Chemistry. Lena was also multi-lingual, fluent in English as well as the Chinese dialects of Toisanese, Cantonese, and Mandarin. In addition, she had knowledge of conversational Fukienese, Tagalog, and some Spanish.
Lena met Nicolas through family friends, and they were married on October 21, 1972. They lived in Westerville for a few years but spent the majority of their life in Worthington, Ohio.
Her pride and joy were her children, Theresa and Jonathan. Lena was a homemaker who completely dedicated herself to nurturing her children’s academic and musical successes and achievements. Lena also loved her grandchildren. When her grandchildren Alexander and Julian were born, she and Nicolas temporarily lived in the Chicago area to help care for them until they were each one year old.
Once back in Columbus, she and Nicolas enjoyed attending services at the Columbus Chinese Christian Church. Since her passion was in line dancing, she took time to teach line dance to the other church members. Other activities she enjoyed included dining, shopping, playing piano, visiting family in the San Francisco Bay area, and going on cruises.
In 2011, she was diagnosed with nasal lymphoma. After receiving chemotherapy, the cancer went into remission. Unfortunately, the chemotherapy caused memory problems, leading to the dementia that progressed rapidly during her final two years.
Lena was preceded in death by her parents and eldest sister Elise Kwong.
She is survived by her loving and devoted husband Nicolas Lie, daughter Theresa Lie-Nemeth, M.D. (Alexander Julian Nemeth, M.D.), son Jonathan Lie (Amber Zhao), and grandsons Alexander Nicolas Nemeth, Julian Joseph Nemeth, and Jasper Cheng Lie.
She is also survived by her siblings Janet Wong (Douglas), John Quan (Mildred), Mary Kim Chung (Walter), Carol Chung, Jimmy Quan (Julie), and Amy Reimann (Hans), as well as her nieces and nephews: Donna Kwong, George Wong, Zenia Luk, Patrick Wong, Haisen Quan, Kirsen Quan, John Chung, Cynthia Chung, Stephanie Quan, and Trisha Quan.
Visitation hours will be held at Schoedinger Funeral Home, 6699 N. High St, Worthington, OH 43085 on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, as well as on Wednesday, July 6 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. A funeral service will be held in her honor on July 6 at 1:00 pm; this service will also be live-streamed at this link: https://webcasts.lifetributes.com/1218875 Following the funeral, there will be a procession to Resurrection Cemetery, 9571 N. High St, Lewis Center, OH 43035 for her interment. Pallbearers will be Jonathan Lie, Alexander Nemeth, George Wong, Patrick Wong, Kirsen Quan, and Christopher Nemeth.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in her memory to the Columbus Chinese Christian Church.
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