SOPHIE AY-FUNG LOH CHIEN
1932-2021
Auntie Sophie Ay-Fung Loh Chien
On Monday, April 26th, 2021, Sophie Ay-fung
Loh Chien passed away in Laguna Niguel,
California at age 89. She lived a triumphant life
and we will miss her greatly. Sophie was a “tour
de force” throughout her remarkable life. She
was and will always be an inspiration to us all in
her courage, optimism, generosity,
perseverance and entrepreneurship. A loving
wife and mother, she was also a devoted friend
to many.
Sophie was born in Shanghai, China and fled the
Communist regime as a teen. She earned a B.A.
in Economics at National Taiwan University.
After completing her MBA at the University of
Minnesota on scholarship, she met and married
the love of her life, Robert T. Chien in 1957. They
started a family in New York where Robert
worked at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research
Center. She raised four children with Robert,
who was later Professor and Director of the
Coordinated Science Lab at the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Sophie leaves a rich
legacy of friends and family and is survived by:
Emily Chien Mahoney, an IBM executive; Tony
Chien, an executive and business owner; Andrew
Chien, a technologist and professor at the
University of Chicago; and Steve Chien, a
computer scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. She also leaves six grandchildren:
Grace Mahoney, Jennifer Chien, Elizabeth
Mahoney, Athena Chien, Robert Chien, and
Isabella Chien.