Obituary of Lucille Pa-Mei Hsieh

Lucille Pa-Mei Hsieh of Medford, MA and Fishkill, NY, a woman of faith, family, and music, passed away on Wednesday morning, November 6, 2024 at Artis Senior Living in Lexington after an extended battle with dementia.  She was 84 years old. 

Lucille was the beloved wife of the late Chang-Ming Hsieh.  She was the devoted mother of her only child, Vivian Su & her husband Jimmy of Medford, MA.  She was the proud grandmother of Jasper Su and Cooper Su of Medford, MA.  Lucille was the daughter of the late Chiu Chuang and Shou Yong Wang, and the beloved baby sister of the late #1 Sister Mei-Hui Chen, late #2 Sister Mei-Jei Kuo, late #3 Sister Mei-Rong Huang, late #4 Sister Mei-Ying Chou, #5 Sister Mei-Yuan Lin of Tawain, #6 Sister Mei-Hua Chen of Taiwan, # 7 Sister Rebecca Mei-Ling Chou of NJ, and #9, their only brother, Jason Wang of CA. Lucille’s Chinese name, Pa-Mei, literally means 8th sister.  She is survived by many nieces, nephews and friends.

Lucille was born in Changhua, Taiwan.  In a family of 11, their home was filled with faith, structure, music and good food.  Lucille was a graduate of the National Teachers College where she majored in English.  She worked as a professional singer for the Taiwanese Christian musical group “Heavenly Melody”.  By virtue of being a member of this group, she had the opportunity to travel to New York.  She met her future husband, Chang-Ming Hsieh, at a church service in NYC where Ming was wow-ed when he heard and saw her perform.  They were married in 1967.  Ming was an electrical engineer at IBM and they settled in Fishkill, New York. 

MUSIC

Lucille taught piano in her home every day of the week and had an enormous number of students over the years that included children, teenagers, and adults. She never raised her prices since she began teaching in 1975, wanting everyone who desired to learn to be able to afford it.  She wanted the best for her students, expected them to take their lessons and practice time very seriously, and pushed them to be the best they could be.  It was quite challenging when some students came to lessons with long, professionally painted fingernails or arrived without practicing the previous week.  Lucille hosted several piano recitals for her students and their families each year, and they were great times of celebration that included delicious food.  Everyone loved her. Classical music and church music were her favorite genres.

FAITH

Lucille was a woman of strong faith.  Her father was both a School Principal as well as a Presbyterian Pastor. As such, she grew up in a disciplined home with strong Christian values.  She lived by those beliefs throughout her life.  Given that there were no Chinese Christian churches in the area, Ming & Lucille started hosting church services in their humble home in Fishkill.  Initially they called themselves the Mid-Hudson Chinese Bible Study Group, and from 1968 until 1976, the group met twice a month.  In 1987, a parcel of land was purchased on All Angels Hill Road in Wappingers Falls, New York.  Ming designed the church. He & Lucille, along with others, contributed their own funds, and physically participated in building the church to make this dream a reality. From 1976 to 1992, the church met weekly in the fellowship halls of different churches and was known as the Mid-Hudson Chinese Christian Fellowship. They had weekly prayer meetings on Tuesday nights and bible study on Friday nights.  In July 1992, the Mid-Hudson Chinese Christian Church was completed.  Lucille played the piano and organ at the church, was a member of the choir and bible study groups, taught Children’s Sunday School, and participated in all the activities and social events at the church.  Ming & Lucille never missed attending church on Sundays, even when they were on vacation. The church was a very large part of Lucille’s life and something she took great passion and pride in. The discipline of going to and serving in church was ingrained in Vivian from birth.

FOOD

For over 40 years, Ming & Lucille opened their home and hosted missionaries and guest pastors while they were visiting MHCCC; the guests often raved about Lucille’s cooking. She often had friends over for dinner, and also cooked for the many potluck dinners at church. Vivian grew up eating three square meals a day with dinner being at six o’clock on the dot.  Lucille was very quick and efficient in her cooking and kept a meticulous home.  The legacy of providing and enjoying good meals with friends continues on in Vivian and her boys.  Food is love.

FAMILY

Lucille was very devoted to her family.  As a mother, she wanted to give Vivian all the necessary tools to live a healthy and meaningful life. She was a “Tiger Mom” and set extremely high expectations in all areas because she understood her daughter’s and her grandchildren’s potential. She taught Vivian to play the piano at the age of 5 and then wisely handed her over to another teacher at the age of 6 as it began to affect their mother-daughter relationship. Lucille also introduced Vivian to other instruments like the violin at age 6 and the clarinet at age 9, and encouraged her to practice and participate in competitions.  She was pleased when her grandsons, Jasper & Cooper, learned how to play the piano and violin, and adjusted when they gave it up to pursue playing the guitar and electric bass.  She gave Vivian and her grandson, Jasper, the opportunity to go to prominent colleges and was so proud of their achievements. 

AFTER DAD

Ming died an accidental death in November 2003, and it was a difficult struggle for Lucille to find her way afterwards.  There were intentions to move to Massachusetts, but her deep ties to her church and piano students kept her in Fishkill.  She had a great community helping her figure out life as a widow.  Lucille was always on the move.  She was very fit, walked the neighborhood daily, went to the gym five days a week and participated in her “Silver Sneaker” classes, often setting up the weights ahead of time for her friends. She made nightly phone calls at 10 PM to Vivian, walking around her home as she talked.  Lucille was punctual, making sure she was early for every commitment.  She loved keeping her flower gardens weed-free and took pride in how her flowers flourished. Lucille loved people, could be a bit feisty, and was never ambiguous about what she thought. She did not have a poker face.

MOVE

Vivian moved Lucille to Massachusetts in March 2017 when Lucille’s memory issues became more severe, and it was clear she could no longer live independently.  Lucille continued to teach piano while she resided in assisted living.  She had several homeschooled students and a few staff at the assisted living facility who came to learn piano for free with her during her first three years in assisted living which gave her so much joy.  Lucille continued to attend church on Sundays with Vivian’s family, and Grace Chapel was the last church she regularly attended. She particularly enjoyed the music, often praising the musicians for their excellence. When she was unable to attend in person, Vivian would livestream the service on her laptop for Lucille to watch, and she would watch intently.  Lucille read a daily bible devotional in English as well as called a number to listen to a daily Chinese devotional.  Every day she faithfully called her #2 sister, who was also a widow, so they could share their respective devotionals with one another as well as pray for each member of their extended family – she cherished these phone calls. This lasted until she was unable to read and manage her cell phone in 2020, a big loss for her.  Lucille had an accidental fall in 2020, which led to her being bed-bound for the rest of her life.  Not being able to walk around and socialize with other residents greatly impacted her, but she became good friends with her 1-1 aides and the staff who visited her regularly.

Lucille is finally at peace, in the presence of her Lord and Savior. She lived a life of devotion, service to others, and will be lovingly remembered.  

A Celebration of Life will be held at Grace Chapel, www.grace.org, 59 Worthen Road, Lexington, MA 02421 on November 23 at 3 PM.  There will be a light reception afterwards at the church.  In lieu of flowers, memorials in Lucille’s name may be made to PEER Servants, www.lucillehsieh.peerservants.org, and these funds will specifically fund projects that involve young people and music.  For the online guest book and video tribute see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net.  Arrangements by the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, Burlington, MA.