Moyra Whelan Obituary, Death – Moyra Whelan died in a tragic car accident. Moyra was born in Suzhou, China, on October 24, the oldest of six children to Dr. John T.P. and Mrs. Therese Siu. Due to political unrest, the family left China in 1936. They lived in England for two years before moving to the United States due to the impending war in Europe, settling in New York. She received honors from Trinity College in Washington, D.C., a master’s degree in parasitology from Columbia University, and a doctorate from Women’s Medical College in Pennsylvania.
Moyra interned at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, where she met her future husband, Loring Whelan. They married soon after and moved to San Francisco, where she completed a fellowship in Hematology at Stanford Hospital and worked for 37 years as a pediatrician at Kaiser Richmond. Her greatest joy in life was caring for her aging parents in New York, as well as her siblings, husband, and three children. She also worked professionally at St. Luke’s Hospital and served on the school development board as a parent. Loring died in 1991 at the age of 76. She kept working until 1996. She found great joy in spending time with her four grandchildren after retiring.
While living at home with her youngest sister, Clare, she maintained her fierce independence. Moyra was a devout Roman Catholic who attended St. Monica’s Church on a regular basis. For many years, she served on the parish council, was a eucharistic minister, and hosted prayer groups in her home. She kept making sandwiches for SVDP until only two years ago. Her brothers Matthew and Paul, sister Victoria, and husband Loring were all killed in car accidents before she was born. Her children, Frederic (wife Chantal), Lisa (husband Edward), and Catherine (husband Steven), as well as her grandchildren, Aaron, Nicholas, Sarah, and Nathan, and sisters Clare and Barbara, will all miss her greatly.