Mae Liang Gam, 96, died April 2, 2020, in Arden Hills near Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her husband was the Reverend Dr. Samuel McAdow Gam (1916-1989) and her father-in-law the Reverend Gam Sing Quah. She dedicated her life to missionary work in Hong Kong and China until her retirement.

Mae Liang was born to Shui Sing Liang and Yip Huen Chen on July 7, 1924, in Yeung-kong, Kwangtung Province, China. She attended music school and continued her training even while frequently moving as a refugee to escape the ravages of World War II. She met the Revererand McAdow Gam in 1944 at a music school concert in Kukong, Guangdong. McAdow had returned to China after completing graduate studies in Tennessee to engage in relief and missionary work in the war-torn country. According to the family, it was love at first sight.

Although the war delayed them, Mae married McAdow on March 22, 1946. They had five children, John, Julia, Allen, David, and Paul. Mae devoted her life, partnering with McAdow, to missions and education, in China until 1949, and thereafter around the British colony of Hong Kong. They served in close association with and received support from the Cumberland Presbyterian Church Board of Missions.

For about the next 30 years, Mae and McAdow established missions in Macau, Kowloon, North Point, and Cheng Chau Island, where floating communities of more than 100,000 made fishing sampans their home. In 1958, the couple started “rooftop schools” on top of seven-story concrete settlement housing projects for the benefit of thousands of refugee children for whom government education was not available.

In 1982, Mae and McAdow retired to Nashville, Tennessee, where they had a strong community of long-time church and school friends. They attended Woodbine Cumberland Presbyterian Church. After McAdow died in 1989, Mae moved to Arden Hills, Minnesota, to join her son Paul’s family. She attended the Twin City Chinese Christian Church, and sang in the choir.

Gam Sing Quah: http://www.cumberland.org/hfcpc/minister/GamSingQuah.htm