Plan for the Future
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Ms. Artemia Tan, 64 years old, from New Jersey, USA, passed away, after a courageous battle with a rare type of endometrial cancer, on Thursday, May 27, 2021. Artemia, fondly called “Tem” by her closest friends and family, was born in Davao City, Philippines, daughter of the late Maxima Borbe and Quintin Tan. She is survived by her two sisters: Belen Hofilena of California and Emelita Babol of Davao City, Philippines, her nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.
Tem attended Magsaysay Elementary School and completed high school from the Davao City High School in 1974. She graduated in March 1979 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from the multi-awarded San Pedro College of Nursing in the Philippines. Tem has been generous of her time and other resources and she actively took part in Tita Cares, a charitable undertaking that paves the way for the annual gifting and distribution of “Noche Buena” or Christmas Eve packages (toiletries, towelettes, food and toys) to patients in a public hospital in Davao City, Philippines. She also actively participated in medical missions that provide free surgical services to the indigent population in various places of the Philippines.
Tem migrated to New York City in 1987 from Saudi Arabia and worked at New York Downtown Hospital in 1988 that became New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital where she recently retired from their adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Caring for critically ill patients was one of Tem’s passions in life; that is the reason why she was admired by her hospital leadership including physicians and administrators; she was adored by her patients, respected, and admired by her peers.
Tem was an avid traveler spanning countries in different continents in her days off, including England, Ireland, Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Iceland, Canada, Scotland, Greece, Turkey, Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Israel, Jordan, New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico, Norway, to mention a few. She may only have missed a state or two in the United States. Her vast collection of knickknacks and Starbucks coffee mug and numerous pictures in her albums and Facebook page are testaments to her, at times quirky adventures, in these places on earth.
She never married. Tem dedicated her life and her time to her family which included remarkably close friends from her high school and college years. She was also known for her culinary skills; from her legendary arroz caldo to the cassava cake and other Filipino favorites that she whisked out of her kitchen in her lovely home in the suburbs. Tem can be stubborn and strong willed at times, but she knew she was very loved and supported by her lifelong friends who cared for her till the very end. To those of us that Tem has touched; her legacy will always remain in our hearts and mind. God speed Tem where God awaits and one day, we know we will all see each other again!
A visitation will be held on Thursday, June 10, 2021 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm and Friday, June 11, 2021 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at Bradley, Haeberle & Barth Funeral Home, 1100 Pine Avenue, Union, NJ 07083. A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:15 am on Saturday, June 12, 2021 at St. Michael’s Church, 1212 Kelly St, Union, NJ 07083. Cremation will be private.
