Lan Adams (Lê Thị Hồng Lan), a dedicated physician, loving wife, beloved mother, and cherished sister, passed away on December 9, 2024 in Yonkers, New York. Born on August 30, 1962, in Gia Định, Vietnam, Lan was the third of six children born to Lê Hồng Dương and Phạm Thị Hồng-Yến. Her maternal grandparents were Phạm Văn Túy and Phạm Thị Nhân and her paternal grandparents were Lê Cẩm D. and Nguyễn Tuất T. Lan’s early years were spent in Vietnam, surrounded by her extended family. In 1975, amidst the fall of Saigon, she and her family embarked on a perilous journey, escaping by boat to the Philippines. There, they were rescued by an American vessel and brought to Guam. From Guam, they resettled in Seymour, Connecticut, where she remembers fondly living above a bakery.
Lan graduated from Seymour High School in 1978. Shortly after, her family moved to Houston, Texas. Lan pursued her undergraduate studies at the University of Dallas from 1978 to 1983 and, later, Texas Tech University’s School of Medicine, where she earned an MD in 1991 on an Army scholarship. Lan completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii (1991–1995).
During her time in Hawaii, she met her husband Stephen and welcomed her daughter Jessica. Following their service, which included a stint in Korea, the young family moved to Evans, GA, where she established a private OB-GYN practice that served northern Georgia as well as the area around Swainsboro. In Evans, Lan and her husband raised their three children—Jessica and twin sons William and Stephen.
Lan’s goal to further specialize led her to earn a Master of Public Health and complete a maternal-fetal medicine fellowship at the University of Maryland (2006–2009). She practiced as an MFM specialist in Columbus, Georgia, and later became the Director of MFM at Kaleida Health in Grand Island, New York, where she lived along the Niagara River. In 2017, while completing a critical care fellowship at Albany Medical Center, Lan faced a life-altering illness. Despite her diagnosis, she continued working tirelessly, moving to Yonkers in 2020 to live with her daughter and serve as Director of MFM at White Plains Hospital.
Beyond her professional achievements, Lan was a woman of many talents and joys. She was a gifted singer in her youth, an avid gardener who found peace among her plants, and a skilled cook renowned for her egg rolls. She loved collecting figurines, college sweatshirts, mugs, and plates and cherished shopping trips with her daughter. Lan is survived by her husband, Stephen; her children, Jessica, William, and Stephen; her siblings and their families; her aunts and their families; and countless friends and colleagues who admired her strength and intelligence. Those who knew her, including her siblings, remember her generosity.
A visitation service will be held on December 18th, 2024, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Fred H. McGrath & Son Funeral Home in Bronxville, NY and a funeral mass will be held on December 19th, 2024, 9:45 AM at St. Joseph Church in Bronxville, NY.
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