Husband, 84, with pancreatic cancer & wife, 81, with dementia, warded in S’pore hospice till their last days
published by Mothership on February 13, 2026
Who says it’s too late to fall in love?
On Feb. 12, Assisi Hospice in Singapore shared a love story on their Facebook page involving an elderly couple who met late in life and persevered till the end.
“This Valentine’s Day, we honour a love that bloomed late, was faithful in illness, and persevered even during goodbye,” the hospice wrote.
Despite both facing illnesses that kept them in nursing homes and hospices, the couple found ways to be together through thick and thin.
Meeting in their 50s
Lai Fa Chong, 84, and his wife, Wong Sau Ngo, 81, were married for 27 years.
They met when they were in their 50s.
Lai was in and out of prison thrice in his younger days and had rebuilt his life by then.
He met Wong one day while sharing his story at a halfway house and was drawn to her “gentleness”.
With the support of friends, the two eventually got married.
The pair expressed their love for each other in simple ways throughout their marriage, the hospice revealed.
Wong, a seamstress, showed care through mending Lai’s clothes whenever buttons fell or fabric tore.
Meanwhile, Lai expressed his love through words.
“I would always praise her cooking,” he shared. “She would be very happy when she heard that. Even after a quarrel, she would talk to me again.”
Wife diagnosed with dementia
About six years ago, Wong was diagnosed with dementia.
Her condition worsened to the point that she collapsed at home and became uncommunicative.
Lai then had to make the painful decision to place her in a nursing home.
Despite being apart, he would visit her daily and care for her faithfully, the hospice wrote.
“Even though she could no longer speak,” he shared, “her eyes recognised me.”
Husband diagnosed with cancer
Then, in May 2025, the couple was thrown another curveball.
This time, Lai was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had to be admitted to Assisi Hospice.
With one of them in the nursing home and the other at the hospice, the care team at Assisi Hospice saw that Lai missed his wife deeply.
They then arranged a visit to the nursing home to give the couple a short reunion, one that Lai was “deeply grateful” for.
Admitted to same ward
The couple would soon be reunited, though under bittersweet circumstances.
Wong’s condition suddenly deteriorated, and she was admitted to the same ward at Assisi so they could be close to each other.
In her final moments, Lai was by her side.
At the same time, Lai’s own health was declining. Despite growing weaker, he held on to bid a final farewell to the love of his life.
He endured everything — from her funeral and cremation to the release of her ashes at the Garden of Remembrance.
Lai later passed away at Assisi Hospice on Aug. 8, 2025.
His ashes were laid to rest alongside Wong’s in the same garden.
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