101-year-old woman who raised 10 kids alone after losing husband at 45 dies

A 101-year-old woman who single-handedly raised 10 children died last Tuesday (Dec 3).

Centenarian Lin Jiao (transliteration) has six sons and four daughters with her deceased husband, who succumbed to cancer some 56 years ago.

Lin's sixth child Cai Xiuduan (transliteration), 67, told Shin Min Daily News that she grew up poor, and even had to borrow food from neighbours in her father's last years of life.

Following his death, Lin - who came to Singapore alone from China when she was 16 - did not want to rely on her husband's family.

The housewife planted vegetables and raised chickens to make a living, taking on side jobs such as selling durians and rambutans or inspecting apparel for more income.

Cai added that her older siblings also joined the workforce soon after her father died, while her younger siblings stopped going to school due to financial constraints.

The family's financial situation improved in the 1980s after all 10 children started working, and they were able to move into a HDB flat.

Starting then, Lin would also travel back to her hometown of Fujian once a year to visit relatives.

Remembering the centenarian as perseverant and kind-hearted, Cai said: "Over the past few decades, she raised us by herself and endured sufferings, never getting remarried. She only wanted us to live well, and we greatly admired her."

Lin died in a Ren Ci nursing home with her children present, according to Cai.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com