graduate of the King Edward VII Medical College whose studies had to be continued in India because of World War II, the years of hardship that followed as she doggedly pursued her studies upon being evacuated forged the steely, unwavering determination—defining her approach to life. Awarded a Queen’s Fellowship for specialist training in O&G and qualified as a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1955, Dr Oon worked at Kandang Kerbau Hospital before leaving to start her private practice as Singapore’s first female O&G specialist before retiring in 1991 at the age of 75. She later established the Apex Harmony Lodge—the first nursing home for dementia residents in Singapore—in 1999—and was heavily involved in the procurement of funding for its establishment, while also pioneering a new care concept for Alzheimer’s patients here in Singapore after studying elder care homes around the world. In 2013, she established a Trust to raise awareness about dementia and support caregivers. The Trust has contributed millions of dollars to fund research in women’s health, anti-ageing science and dementia at NUS Medicine. She once explained why she had provided funds for medical research in women’s health and ageing issues: “In this society,” she said, “everything is men, men, men. So I come along and say, ‘Pay more attention to women. I’m a woman.’ I would like to have more done for women. It’s as simple as that.”