Josephine Hom (Oi Boa Hom) Kwan

Josephine Hom Kwan (Oi Boa Hom) of Watertown, MA, devoted and beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away peacefully at home among loved ones, at the age of 89, on August 11, 2023.

Daughter of the late Va Dok Hom and Ung Dook Hom (née Yee).  Much beloved wife of Tony Edmund Kwan. Mother of three children, Raymond J. Kwan and his wife Michelle of Needham and their two sons Jason and Benjamin; Hilton E. Kwan and his wife Susie of Wayland and their four children, Nicholas and his wife Sharon, Sara, Alexander, and Timothy; Judy L. Kwan and her husband John Chin of Newton and their three children Cory, Holly, and Andrew.

She leaves behind her brother-in-law, Kin Ming Wong, widower of late older sister Oi Chung Wong (née Hom) and their grandson Kevin, son of their late son Peter Wong and late wife Alice; and their two daughters Sue Yee and her husband Neward and their children Christopher and Jessica, and Janet Chou and her husband Fan; younger sister May Kabilan (née Hom) and her husband Robert and their daughter Kim and family, and her younger brother Henry Hom and his wife Linda and their two children Michelle and Matthew; as well as many nieces and nephews in the Boston area and throughout the country.

Born February 17, 1934, in Yan Wo Li Village in Guangdong Province, China, she spent her early years in the countryside with her older sister Oi Chung and her parents.  At the age of seventeen she left with her sister Oi Chung for the bright lights of Hong Kong, where they rented a room.  It was there that a mutual friend introduced her to Chung Kwong Kwan (Tony Kwan), her future husband.  About 1954 Chung Kwong left for Venezuela to seek his fortune and so the two sweethearts were separated.  But a year later, using money originally intended for her schooling, Oi Boa would abscond to Venezuela to be with Chung Kwong.  They would wed a few months later in Caracas.  In 1956 they would have their first son, Raymond.

In 1957 Josephine and Tony with their one-year-old son emigrated to the United States, where they lived briefly in Brockton, Massachusetts before moving to the Detroit, Michigan area for four years.  It was there that second son, Hilton and daughter Judy were born.  Josephine and Tony then moved back to Massachusetts for good with their children after Tony received his bachelor’s degree in business administration.  To support the family, Josephine worked very hard as a seamstress, often taking extra work home to earn more for the household, while at the same time raising a family and taking care of a hectic household.  For a couple of years in the late 1960’s she and Tony with the help of sister Oi Chung and brother-in-law Kin Ming spent long hours running Pearl Sky a small Chinese restaurant in Whitinsville, Massachusetts.  However, concerned that her children’s focus on academics was suffering from her long hours away from home, Josephine returned to working as a seamstress, as always showing dedication to family and raising her children.  Josephine was industrious and ambitious, spending many hours after work learning English on her own so that she could get a better job.  With her newly acquired skills in English, she eventually moved into banking, working in the back-office operations at the Fleet Bank Money Center in the Prudential Center.  But her proudest accomplishment, by far, was raising three children and caring for her nine grandchildren.  She also very much loved and was loved by her husband Tony from the day they first met in Hong Kong to her last breath.  Her last regrets were not for herself, but that she would no longer be able to care for her husband.  Josephine endured many hardships throughout her life, but she persevered and flourished despite them.  She is greatly loved by her family and the many others whose lives she touched, and she is already missed immensely.

The visitation and funeral for Josephine will be held Thursday, August 17, 2023, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Eaton Funeral Home, 465 Centre St., Newton, MA, 02458.  Interment to follow at Newton Cemetery, 791 Walnut St., Newton Centre, MA 02459 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Josephine's name may be made to Massachusetts General Hospital at https://giving.massgeneral.org/donate/, in honor of Josephine Kwan. All funds will be directed to the Arthritis Research Lab Fund.

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