Siew Wong Tso

Siew Wong Tso, 89, of Brookline, Massachusetts passed away at home from prostate cancer on December 31, 2025.

He was born in Shanghai, China on April 26, 1936, to Yick Wong Tso, then a university student, and Sheen Nung Cheung. In 1937, the young family fled the city just before the Japanese occupation to their native Guangzhou (Canton). The following year, as the Sino-Japanese war spread, they moved again, this time to Singapore, where Siew Wong's mother had relatives.

After the war, the family settled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Siew Wong was sent back to Guangzhou, China for boarding school, but left after a few years when the Communist government came to power. He then attended Chung Ling School in Penang, Malaysia—a place he recalled fondly throughout his life.

After graduation, he traveled by ship to the United States to study architecture at MIT. As a student he worked to earn money as a waiter in Chinatown, and at MIT washing glassware in a lab and shelving books at the library. It was in the library one summer that he met his future wife, Sally Ball, who was a library science major at Simmons College. They married in 1962.

Upon completing his degree, Siew Wong briefly worked for the Boston Redevelopment Authority before moving to Puerto Rico to work for Del Rio & Associates. Sally joined him after the birth of their first daughter, Saiping. They lived in Puerto Rico for two and a half years before returning to the Boston area, where their second daughter, Meiping, was born.

Siew Wong became a U.S. citizen in 1967 and remained deeply patriotic throughout his life, with a particular regard for U.S. veterans, especially those who served in Asia during WWII.

In 1971, the family settled in Brookline, Massachusetts, and he was then able to bring his father and stepmother to the U.S. from Malaysia in keeping with the Chinese tradition of a first-born son caring for his parents.

Over the course of his career, Siew Wong worked at several noted architectural firms including E. Verner Johnson, Metcalf & Eddy, Campbell Aldrich & Nulty, The Architects Collaborative, and Lin Associates. While a student and in the years that followed, Siew Wong took on extra work to help support his parents and contribute to his brothers' education. After many years of working for others, Siew Wong was proud to open his own small architecture firm, Tso Associates.

During his working years, Siew Wong was primarily focused on providing for his family. Not until retirement did he pursue his passion for travel with gusto. Often with Sally, but sometimes alone, he joined group tours to all parts of the globe. He especially enjoyed river and coastal boat tours throughout Europe.

He was an avid sports fan, Chinese food connoisseur, and TV junkie. Usually a man of few words, though firm in his convictions, he was quiet, humble, and generous - a kind man, very much devoted to family and friends. He was happiest gathered with family around the dining table over a good meal.

Siew Wong is survived by his wife Sally; his two daughters, Saiping Tso (Arthur Daemmrich), and Meiping Tso (Lars Knakkergaard); his granddaughter JiLan Daemmrich; his younger brother Siew Loong Tso (Lena); and sister-in-law, May Lin Tso. He is predeceased by his parents; his two younger brothers, Siew Nung Tso and Siew Soong Tso; and his step-mother, Matilda Tso.

Inurnment in the Tso niche will take place at Newton Cemetery & Arboretum.