Dr Thio Su Mien – the youngest ever Dean of the Faculty of Law and its first female Dean – was called home to the Lord on Monday morning (June 30) at the age of 86. She passed away from acute myeloid leukemia after being diagnosed early May.

Thio served as Dean of the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, from 1968 to 1971, before moving on to Drew & Napier as a corporate lawyer. She later became a managing partner at the firm.

She then co-founded TSMP Law Corporation with Ms Tan Bee Lian in 1998.

Dr Thio was married to Thio Gim Hock, a former Olympian and the CEO of real estate company OUE, as well as an evangelist. He passed away in 2020.

Dr Thio leaves behind her son, senior counsel Thio Shen Yi, and two daughters, NUS law professor Prof Thio Li-ann and Ms Thio Chi-ann.

Boldly sharing the Gospel

Beyond her achievements in the legal landscape, Thio was passionate about people being restored to wholeness through knowing Christ.

She served as an advisory elder at City Mission Church and as director in the Healing Rooms Ministry, part of an international association dedicated to restore believers’ physical well-being.

Together with her husband, Dr Thio spoke at evangelistic rallies overseas, preaching to thousands in stadiums. The couple regularly went on mission trips to Indonesia and the Philippines to preach, teach and conduct ministry.

Over her decades in ministry, Dr Thio witnessed many miracles of healing and hundreds turning to follow Jesus. Her spiritual experiences were chronicled in her book Adventures In The Lord.

“Mum was an archaeologist”

Dr Thio’s daughter Thio Li-ann told Salt&Light: “During her time on earth, Mum loved the Lord and His righteousness fiercely. She was obedient and uncompromising, tender to the broken, aggressive against evil forces.”

She elaborated: “Once, we were in Galicantu in Jerusalem, the location of the prison Jesus was held in. I went in for 10 minutes and walked out, and sat in the shade gazing at the walls of Jerusalem. More than an hour later, Mum still had not emerged – she was still in that prison cell.

“I asked the Lord, ‘Why is she taking so long? What is there to do down there?’ The Lord responded: ‘You are a surveyor, you need to see the overview; Mum is an archaeologist, she likes to dig deep.'”

Thio Li-ann with her mother in 2001, “when I became Dr Thio at Cambridge.” Photo courtesy of Thio Li-ann.

Of her relationship with her mother, Li-ann said, “We got on famously as mother and daughter and were the best of friends, speaking late into the night about the things of God, sparking off wisdom and revelation. We had many adventures together in biblically significant lands, doing prophetic intercessory acts, seeking the Lord’s heart – from Israel to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Greece, Rome, Ottoman Europe, etc.”

Li-ann revealed that Dr Thio had been working on a new book before she passed away.

“She was anxious in her last months to complete her second Christian book, a testimony to the work of the Lord in her life and in my father Gim Hock’s life.

“As she had lost strength in her right hand, I took it upon myself to edit it with her, reading it to her daily and correcting things. It will be called From Sinim to Kittim: More Adventures in the Lord. The manuscript is now being prepared for publication and will be made available to the Christian community here and beyond.”

She said to Salt&Light: “I must now complete my race well, so that I will have something worth telling Mum about, during our next conversation, which I will wait impatiently for.”

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