Today, on the 9th of March 2013, my Paternal Grandmother Molly Khoo passed away peacefully at the age of 94. I will miss her dearly and will always remember her kindness, the values and lessons she passed on to me over the years. My Grandma was the one who raised me in my younger years as my parents spent most of their weekdays working to build their careers.

During my parent’s divorce, she was the one who took me in and gave me love and strength during those challenging years. When everyone called me lazy, stupid and naughty, my Grandma never said a single unkind or discouraging word. She was a tremendous positive thinker who listened and encouraged me to become the best I could be. She was the one who gave me hope at a time when everyone believed I was a hopeless kid. When I came out with the crazy idea of making money by running a disco at the age of 15, she was the one who lent me her house. Despite over 100+ teenagers trashing her house, she never scolded me or complained. Instead, she asked, ‘How much money did you make?’ and smiled and she cleaned up.

Next to her bedside was a picture of the time she attended my graduation ceremony from Officer Cadet School, one of the proudest moments in her life (and mine as well). A testament to the fact that when you believe and care for someone, you can mould a diamond out of coal.

My Grandma was really an amazingly intelligent, courageous and determined woman. When her husband (my paternal grandfather) died at the young age, she was left to raise her four sons alone (one of them, my dad). At that time, many people thought that she could never pull through and would even lose the house. She was a homemaker with little savings and no formal education.

Despite having no formal schooling, she spoke fluent English, Malay, Hokkien, Cantonese and was extremely resourceful and witty. She learnt how to became a horse betting bookie (illegal at the time), took in tenants into the family home and punted shares in the stock market. My Grandma learnt how to create multiple streams of income all by herself.

With her resourceful money making skills (which probably rubbed off on me), frugal habits, she put all her four sons through university (including my dad) and continued to play an active role in caring for us all the way to her 90s. Because of her, my dad, my three other uncles and many of my cousins lead an abundant life today. Thank you Grandma and I know you are in a much better place now.