Chris Chun-Ching Chen

Chris Chun-Ching Chen, age 82, passed away peacefully at her home in Westwood, MA, on February 24, 2024, after a brief battle with lymphoma. She was surrounded by her family.

Chris Chen was born on June 12, 1941, in Holong, Taiwan. The third of eight siblings, and the eldest daughter, Chris was the protective older sister her entire life. She graduated from National Taiwan University with a degree in economics, and then went to Marburg, Germany, to continue her studies at the University of Marburg and graduated with her masters’ degree. While in Marburg, she met Dr. Etang Chen, a fellow Taiwanese graduate student studying mathematical physics. They married in 1965, and welcomed a son, Herbert, in 1966. In 1968, the family emigrated to the United States, where they welcomed a daughter, Sabina. The family followed Dr. Chen’s academic career through several universities in the U.S. and in Europe, before settling in Westwood, MA, in 1978. Through the years, Chris helped six of her siblings and their families immigrate from Taiwan to the U.S.

In 1987, the Chens founded Micro-Precision Technologies, a microchip manufacturing firm in Salem, NH. Chris served as Chief Financial Officer, while Dr. Chen was President. Together, they built MPT into a thriving small business that employed up to 20 people, many of whom became like family. MPT was sold to their daughter and her husband in 2017. The Chens lived for 30 years in Windham, NH.

Chris enjoyed world travel, social gatherings, her husband’s jokes, and discovering a good bargain. Fluent in four languages, she was known for meeting people and making friends in places as random as the supermarket parking lot. She could be opinionated and stubborn, and have impossibly high standards, but was also fiercely loyal and generous. An accomplished cook, Chris liked feeding people in her home, especially her grandchildren, for whom nobody could cook like “Amah.” In 2021, Chris moved to Fox Hill Village in Westwood, MA, where she enjoyed meeting new friends, daily walks, and trips to the symphony.

Chris Chen is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Dr. Etang Chen, who passed in 2018. She is survived by her son, Herbert C. Chen of New York, NY; daughter, Sabina Chen, and son-in-law, Blake Clark, both of Seville, Spain; grandchildren, Milo Chen Clark and Jubilee Chen Clark of Seville, Spain; sisters Yen-Hwa Mar of Cupertino, CA, and Ashu Wong of Dallas, TX; brother Aki Chen of Taipei, Taiwan; many dear nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life for Chris Chen will be held in the summer of 2024. Donations in her memory can be made to the Lymphoma Research Foundation (lymphoma.org) or the Mass General Cancer Center (http://giving.massgeneral.org/donate/cancer-center/).