Betty Shui-Ling Iu-Chen

Betty Shui-Ling Iu-Chen, MD, of New York City peacefully passed away on October 4, 2026, at Pickering Manor in Newtown, PA, with her favorite TV channel (the Tennis Channel) playing softly in the background.

Born in August 1933, Dr. Iu grew up in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong, but was able to furtively continue her studies thanks to Catholic nuns that secretively continued to teach her English and other subjects under the threat of severe punishment. Fortunately, they were never caught, and she was able to be placed in advanced classes due to her continued education, and earned her MBBS (Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Medicine) from the University of Hong Kong in the early-1950’s.

After obstetrics/gynecology residency training at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital (now Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital) in London, and earning her Member of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, she returned to Hong Kong where she served as a civil servant attending physician until moving to New York to marry Dr. John Chen, in June 1970. New York State recognized her MBBS degree and licensed her as a Medical Doctor. After serving one year as chief resident at Stamford General Hospital in Connecticut, she earned her Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

She was then hired by Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, where she also served at Gouverneur Hospital as an attending physician, before entering private practice in lower Manhattan’s Chinatown in the late 1970’s. She was known for her clinical skills, particularly in performing amniocentesis, vaginal breech deliveries, and the cold-knife-cone procedure; she taught a generation of NYC OB/GYN residents the cold-knife-cone procedure (to treat certain cervical cancers to significantly reduce bleeding and inpatient hospital stays). She was known for delivering a number of the lower Manhattan Chinatown babies.

Betty’s love for classical music and the performing arts was boundless. She took joy in her season tickets to Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theatre, the New York City Ballet, New York City Center, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and in sharing them with others; it was not uncommon for her to attend eight performances in a week, and even to her last days, she was going to three or four performances a week.

She is predeceased by her parents, Suk Han Iu (mother) and Tak Lam Iu (father); her eldest brother, Po Chiu Iu, and his wife, Kwan Ming (Helen); her older brother, Po Hay Iu (Jeffrey); her separated husband, John S. L. Chen, MD; and her daughter, Joanne. She is survived by her son, CAPT Andrew J. Chen, USPHS Ret. (wife Jessica E. Stehr, VMD); Po Chiu's and Kwan Ming's children: Alvin, Simon, Howard, and Jean, and their children; and her three grand-cats, Ludwig, Clara, and Felix. She claimed Felix as her favorite, but Clara loved her the most.

Her ashes will be interred at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery outside of Toronto, Ontario, next to her beloved brother, Po Chiu.