Jane's Parents
Jane's mother passed away July 2016; her father had passed away in 1995. We, Mike and Jane Grossman, decided to use part of the inheritance to set up a Charitable Gift Annuity to benefit the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts piano students. We named the fund in honor of Jane's parents. Why? Her mother was a lover of the arts, especially literature and classical music. And for them, education was of prime importance. They would be proud to help Dreyfoos High School students receive an education and pursue their dreams. They would also be proud to give back to the United States, a country whose ideals and values they admired deeply.
Nancy (nee Huang, 1918-2016) and Michael T.S.Tang (1918-1995) graduated from St John’s University 1942 in Shanghai, China. They overcame tremendous obstacles to obtain their education while falling in love during a brutal war. Both of them were of Chinese ancestry, but they came from vastly different backgrounds and means. Nancy was born in Hong Kong to a wealthy family, while T.S. was born on Bangka Island, Indonesia, eldest son of a humble pepper-plantation family.
Nancy and T.S. met at Lingnan University in Canton, China, during the Sino-Japanese War. As the Japanese army advanced through China, the American missionaries running the university decided to evacuate chosen students on foot (over 700 miles) to St. John's University in Shanghai, a demilitarized safety zone. A Japanese soldier threatened to shoot Nancy when she refused to bow to him at the bridge crossing, Nancy's elder brother spoke Japanese and was able to persuade the soldier to spare her life. T.S. contracted typhus and was at death's door. Nevertheless, despite harsh circumstances, they managed to finish their undergraduate studies. They were immensely thankful to the American missionaries who founded and ran St John’s, which was considered the "Harvard University of China" at the time.
In that era, girls born in Hong Kong were suppressed and had limited opportunity in all aspects of life. Arranged marriages were the norm. Nancy secretly applied to college in China, then ran away from home. She sent her father a letter asking help with living expenses. He did not refuse. She blazed a college trail for her younger sisters. She majored in English and became a teacher. In Australia, she taught herself to sew, made most of her children's clothing, winter coats and all. And then, in Hong Kong, she taught English in high-school. After school hours, she tutored at home to pay for Jane's piano lessons. Throughout her life, Nancy enjoyed the company of young people. She encouraged them to pursue an education, and listened to their concerns and dreams.
Because T.S. was the eldest son in his family, he was the only one of his 11 siblings to receive higher education. His parents sent him away to Singapore to attend elementary school. Brilliant, by the time he graduated from high school, he was offered a fellowship to Cambridge University in England. But because he had always considered China his roots, he chose instead to attend college in China. He majored in history and political science. At that time, he did not speak or read a word of Chinese. But, eventually he was fluent in Indonesian, Dutch, English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Hakka (the language of "over-seas Chinese people").
After graduation, the British recruited T.S. as a translator for their air force. They sent him to India, then Australia. After World War II, T.S. returned to Shanghai to marry his beloved Nancy, who was teaching English at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. They moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 1945. While there, T.S. taught himself accounting, and became a certified accountant. Their first three children Rex, Jane, and Mark were born in Melbourne.
The White Australia Policy harbored a fierce anti-Chinese sentiment. In 1955, they left Australia and moved to a small apartment in a high-rise in Hong Kong. A year later their fourth child, Raymond, was born. T.S. worked as an accountant and became highly esteemed by the partners. His uncommon last name Tang 湯 was added to the marquee of the accounting firm Le Tang Chen & Co. 李湯陳會計師事務所 and remains so to this day. T.S. was frugal and learned how to invest -- apparently successfully -- and taught his children the value of saving. In 1966, the Cultural Revolution brought unrest and nightly curfews to Hong Kong. That year, Rex left to attend Lowell Tech in Massachusetts, a year later, Jane followed. In 1969, the rest of the family migrated to California.
T. S. worked many more years as an auditor at Union Bank in San Francisco before retiring, while Nancy was a stay-at-home mom for Mark and Ray. She made new friends, picked up new hobbies, and maintained a single home with a large beautiful yard in Palo Alto. She loved gardening in general, roses in particular. Never one to be idle, in her late 60's, she taught herself water-coloring, photography; in her 80's, studied Chinese philosophy and poetry; then at age 90, learned to use a computer.
Mike and Jane believe that the only worthwhile money is the money you earn by yourself, through hard work, saving, and then investing so that your money 'compounds' efficiently. Your parents' money is their money; if you don't need it, use it to honor them. Nancy and T.S.'s 'rags-to-riches story' shows that education is a road to freedom and prosperity. We hope their legacy inspires students, and helps make the world a better place.
Koala by Nancy (watercolor)