The Straits Times, 4 February - Terrence Voon
About 200 people turned up at the Church of the Holy Spirit to bid farewell to former national hurdler and Olympian Tan Eng Yoon yesterday.
It was not just VIPs and ministers who came to pay their respects when the wake for Singapore's late sporting icon Tan Eng Yoon was held earlier this week.
One former student drove from house to house behind Thomson Plaza searching for Tan's home, while a former athlete drove to every church in the Bishan area looking for the wake.
These touching stories were related by Tan's daughter Sabrina, 39, when the former Olympian was laid to rest yesterday.
"Dad was the embodiment of the Olympic spirit." she recounted in her eulogy to her father.
" He strongly believed that it wasn't about winning the gold medal, but rather having travelled the Olympic journey, and do it the right way."
Tan, 82, died after he was knocked down by a car last Saturday morning along Upper Thomson Road.
He had just attended the morning mass at the nearby Church of the Holy Spirit - the same place where his funeral service was held yesterday.
About 200 people turned up to bid a final farewell to him, including former athletes like sprinter C.Kunalan, hockey's Anwarul Haque, former national rugby coach Natahar Bava and Malaysia's sprint king M. Jegathesan.
After the hour-long service, Tan was cremated at the Mandai Crematorium.
Said Sabrina:"To us, as a family, we are not looking at how his life ended, but rather the journey that his life took.
"We see a life filled with family, friends, love for God, passion for sports and always reaching out to give a helping hand. We see him as a simple man who achieved extraordinary things. That is his legacy."
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