‘To Know Her is to Know Love’: Remembering the Life of Mrs Gnanasundram Thevathasan, J.P.
(1918 – 2023)
To her family of four children, nine grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and all their partners and their families, Mrs Gnanasundram Thevathasan, or Gnana as she was affectionately known to most, has been the undoubted source of unconditional love, wise counsel and wonderful rich storytelling, usually whilst savouring one of her sumptuous meals. Gnana was an extraordinary cook, with a culinary gift for producing dishes inspired by cuisines worldwide.
To many more others outside her family, Gnana embodied the hopes and promises we can all have in the Lord. Inspired by her late husband, Dr Arthur Wesley Sugunaratnam Thevathasan who went home to the Lord in March 1967, Gnanahad once said this in an interview for the book Our Stories His Glory: “My late husband made me the person I am today. Without his support and encouragement, I would not have been able to do so much in my volunteer work and not apply the talents that God had graciously bestowed upon me to His Glory.”
Gnana was also Singapore’s longest-serving Justice of the Peace (J.P.). Appointed in 1948, Gnana was one of 18 women, for the first time in the history of Singapore, appointed Justices of the Peace, as a recognition of the growing importance and influence of women in the public life of the colony.
A faithful servant in Wesley Methodist Church since 1946 and in the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) since 1948, Gnana passed away on 16 November 2023 at the age of 105 years.
Her Early Years, Education and Marriage
Born Gnanasundram Cooke in Colombo, Ceylon, to a loving Christian family on 8 July 1918, Gnana was the middle child with an older brother (Ratna) and a younger brother (Raju). Her parents, James Walter Sugirthanayagam and Rosalind Pavalam Cooke, were among the first Ceylonese to receive western education when the American missionaries started schools there in the 1820s. She was the granddaughter of Chelliah Cooke, a renowned educationalist who taught at Jaffna College and editor of the Morning Star newspaper.
Gnana went to St Paul’s Primary school in Colombo, then to Holy Family Convent (Church of England). When her father died when she was 11 in 1929, the family moved to Jaffna to be with her paternal grandfather. There, she studied at the co-ed Jaffna College, Vaddukodai, and then sat her Senior Cambridge at Uduvil College, Jaffna, Asia’s oldest girls’ school. She excelled at Geography, History, Arts, Singing and Music, and she was a prefect and girl guide at Uduvil College. A gifted musician, Gnana had sat the Trinity College of Music exam in 1939 in Piano, where she emerged second in the whole of Ceylon, shy of first place by just a mark.
Her marriage to Dr Arthur Wesley Sugunaratnam Thevathasan was on 1 September 1939, in Jaffna in Sri Lanka, the day that Germany marched into Poland. The couple then returned to Singapore to start their life together while Great Britain declared war against Germany amidst the British war effort and the state of emergency.
Her Ministry in Wesley Methodist Church and the Community
Gnana’s father-in-law, Rev Samuel Thevathasan, was a Methodist pastor. Rev Thevathasan was instrumental in protecting the Methodist church in Singapore during the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945 while many of the Methodist pastors (who were American or British) were incarcerated by the Japanese as they were seen as part of the enemy.
Thereafter, it was natural that Gnana joined the WSCS (Women’s Society of Christian Service) at Wesley Church in 1946 and was immediately made secretary of social work and church activities. She went on to hold every office on the executive over the years, including the LCEC (Local Church Executive Committee). She was an honorary steward of the LCEC for many decades until her death. The WSCS was initially started with the intention of helping ladies bond and grow through Christian service, discipleship and fellowship.
Gnana was also the founder of the Wesley Floral Fellowship. During the Japanese occupation, Wesley had also been used as a munitions depot by the Japanese during the war. The interior of the church was badly damaged during the war. Consequently, Arthur and Gnana donated an altar table made from teak, crafted by Shanghainese carpenters who were Arthur’s patients, and people started to bring flowers to church from their gardens which they would place in a vase or used bottles to decorate the altar table. This floral ‘ministry’ was sustained by Gnana single-handedly for years before the Wesley Floral Fellowship was started formally in the 1970s when more Wesleyans got together to arrange flowers for weddings, worship services and special occasions. An award-winning florist, Gnana further developed her flower arranging skills by taking some courses in Ikebana and studying some self-help books on floral arrangement. Mrs Gnana Thevathasan was fondly called Mrs T by many of us in the Wesley Floral Fellowship. Irene Tan, a Wesley member, remembers Gnana as a sweet, gentle, and sincere lady who always had a kind word for everyone: “She was also a thoughtful hostess. She made sure that the home-made snacks she offered us were cooked after we arrived at her home so that we can enjoy them warm. We will always remember Mrs Thevathasan, our founder and dear friend who was our partner in flower arrangements into her nineties. May she rest in peace in the presence of our Lord.”
In addition, Gnana was also one of the founding members of the Wesley Senior Fellowship. The senior fellowship was officially launched in February 1983 and recognised as a ministry of the church. In terms of her ministry outside the Church, having witnessed firsthand the tremendous suffering and hardships of the people during the Japanese Occupation in Singapore, Gnana and Arthur had developed a heightened sense of compassion for those in need. Most children in Singapore then had no proper education, basic care or nourishment. Children from poorer families were neglected and often loitered in the streets as their parents had to work for a living. These children often starved and resorted to fights and stealing. As such, along with other Wesley Church members, Gnana became involved with Social Welfare Services through the late Mrs Kismet Wong (another Wesley member and mother of Bishop Gordon Wong), who started a school in Maxwell Road near Chinatown to give children of poorer families some improvised education and wholesome meals.
Rev Melvin Huang remembers Gnana mostly as the cornerstone of the floral fellowship among her myriad areas of service as a member of Wesley: “1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that in God’s eyes physical stature and attributes count for little. In this sense Mrs Thevathsan was a spiritual giant. If years of faithful service were the measure, she would have been a hundred metres tall. There is a song that goes ‘Jesus bids us shine with a pure clear light… you in your small corner and I in mine’. In her corner Mrs T shone with a thousand candles’ power. Well done good and faithful servant… I am sure that was how she was received into her Master’s joy.”
Inspired by the efforts of American missionary church leaders such as Bishop Hobart Amstutz and Rev Tyler Thompson, Arthur became increasingly involved with service during the war through the Swiss Red Cross in helping to get supplies to prisoners of war and with the provision of vaccinations and health care.
During the war years, Gnana’s husband continued running his medical clinic, providing vital medical services, including vaccinations for the community. The clinic also provided much-needed employment and security for the family when Singapore was under the Japanese occupation. After the war, Arthur became involved with SATA (Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association), Rotary, the Freemasons, YMCA and many other medical and service organisations, as well as higher education, in order to help rebuild the community completely destroyed by the war. Arthur was awarded an O.B.E. (the most excellent Order of the British Empire) for his service to the community on 13 June 1957. A man ahead of his time, Arthur encouraged Gnana to become more active in helping their community become more independent, resilient and self-sufficient, paving the path for her to focus a lot on helping the community in and outside of Wesley. One of the first beneficiaries of Gnana’s charitable efforts was the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association). A life member of the YWCA, Gnana sat on the Board of the General Committee in 1952, before becoming chairperson of the Hostel Committee at Fort Canning in the 1960s. As the chairperson, she organised numerous fundraising events to raise funds to enable the six-storey extension at Fort Canning to be built from 1967–1969 with rooms for 140 people.
Only Motivated by Love for Christ and Others
The above are just some of the milestones in the life of a godly daughter of Christ. More than anything, Gnana had left behind a long track record of faithful, dedicated kingdom labours and sacrificial service until she returned home to the Lord. Up to the end, no matter the circumstances, Gnana never wavered in her faith and sacrificial service to the Lord, her Church, her community and her family. Gnana’s fire for the gospel and fervour to help those with less did not come about from any complex theological understanding, but solely out of love for Christ and people. Her compassion, interest and concern for others spurred her to uphold all her loved ones each day with her devotion to the end. We have all been deeply inspired by her unwavering faith in God and hope for the future and are immensely thankful to be able to celebrate 105 years of a life lived to the full in the service of others.
Indeed, to know Gnana is to know love.
(Photos courtesy of the Thevathasan family)
‘He Consecrated His Life to Christ’: Remembering Dr Oliver Seet (1937 – 2023)
Dr Oliver Seet, a faithful servant of his church community and a friend to many within the Methodist circles, went home to be with the Lord on 4 November 2023. To say that he will be greatly missed is an understatement.
Dr Oliver Seet was an Associate Professor of English at the National Institute of Education. He was well-known and respected as a knowledgeable and caring lecturer to generations of English teachers under his charge. Besides his busy working schedule, he had also served actively on Christian, charity and government boards. As a second-generation Wesley member, he was baptised as an infant in Wesley and was received into membership as a young adult on 1 January 1962. His father, Charles Seet, was a Wesley Member who started the Ushers Ministry and taught his only son to be faithful in service and to honour God in all his endeavours. Dr Seet served faithfully in the Wesley Local Church Executive Committee where he held positions as Chairman of the Prayer and Praise Committee, the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee and finally as an Honorary Steward. He was also a worship leader at the traditional service. He also served as a member of the Dawnbreakers Choir for close to 50 years together with his late wife Mrs Seet Sook Ching who was the conductor of the choir. In his leadership role in Wesley, he had the chance to mentor many pastors and church leaders.
A Man of Insight and Wisdom
“Dr Seet was truly a faithful servant of God. A man of insight and wisdom, he mentored me when I was serving at the Prayer and Praise Ministry. I will always be grateful for the kind and loving guidance he gave me,” said Rev Raymond Fong, Pastor-in-Charge of Wesley Methodist Church.
Besides serving in church, he was a long-term board member of the Metropolitan YMCA and was on the Singapore Film Censorship Board. He was also very active in promoting activities within the NUS alumni later in his life. Dr Oliver Seet was also a well-known poet and contributed many poems to the Methodist Message and other literary works. In 2019 at the age of 82, he published his first volume of poems titled “Once” which was a collection of the many poems he had written throughout his life.
Dr Seet will be remembered by his family as a loving and caring father to his two sons, two daughters-in-law, six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. His son, Dr Irwin Seet who presently serves as Chairman of Worship and Music in Wesley, recounts that “My father was a very loving and devoted grandfather to his six grandchildren. He took them out individually for meals with him at places like The Ship, Raffles Town Club or other eateries that were known for their good food. He was generous with them and enjoyed deep discussions with them about their lives and interests. Each of his grandchildren developed a strong connection with him, and as a family, we all miss him dearly.”
Dr Oliver Seet leaves behind a legacy of passion, integrity, industry and love for family, friends and God’s people which inspires us to now live for the Lord. He has run his race well and finished it to the glory of God.
In his passing, Wesley Methodist Church lost a beloved brother. We will miss his wise counsel and forever cherish the memory of the late Dr Oliver Seet as an exemplar of Christian leadership and a shining example of a spiritual mentor of immense wisdom and kindness of spirit.
(Photos courtesy of the Seet family)
Read also: Our Stories, His Glory (2005)
