A tribute to the late Mr Harry Tan

Harry was synonymous with the Singapore Physical Education Association (SPEA). Many students first encountered SPEA through him. I’m not entirely sure when I officially signed up, but I found myself serving on the newsletter editorial committee before I even realised I was a member! Eventually, I served with Harry for seven terms, totaling 14 years. Harry, had been there long before me and served as Vice President for an impressive eight years.

During that time, I witnessed his tireless leadership, organising activity after activity. Particularly, at the end of 2006, when we organised a massive PE and Sports conference at NTU (Nanyang Technological University), Harry stayed late, returned on weekends, and ensured every detail was properly planned. He was also the driving force behind the Lau Teng Chuan Scholarship Fund, which he established in honour of the founding president, Mr. Lau, to support the professional development of PE teachers. Yet, Harry was never one to seek accolades. His standard phrase was, "Don’t bother," as he believed it would be sad if we did volunteer work for our CVs.

It was Harry who called me in mid-2004 to inform me of a vacancy in teacher training at PESS (Physical Education and Sports Science) Academic Group, NIE. He encouraged me to apply, and soon, we were colleagues in the same department. Teaching alongside Harry and interacting with him daily allowed me to observe his unwavering dedication closely. He was always available to help student-teachers, often staying late into the evening or returning on weekends to support their activities. He even took charge of watering the hockey pitch early in the morning before the facilities staff arrived so that students, including the external secondary school hockey teams, could practise safely. Harry’s selflessness extended to every aspect of his work.

I remember one instance in particular: in 2006, Harry worked tirelessly to edit a textbook for one of our Physical Education modules. At the last minute, he gave up first authorship to a colleague. In a university setting where the pressure to “publish or perish” is ever-present, Harry simply didn’t care about personal recognition. He was content to step aside if it benefited someone else.

Harry’s generosity extended far beyond the workplace. He freely contributed to fundraising projects, supported friends and former students in their ventures and businesses, and gave without hesitation. Money was never important to him—he was always happy to help if it meant making a difference in someone’s life. Even after leaving full-time faculty positions, we returned to teach part-time. Harry continued teaching mostly tennis classes while I focused mainly on fitness. Despite being paid for the three-hour lessons, Harry would arrive early to set up before the first student and stay late for the last, so that his students could have more opportunities to learn. His commitment never wavered.

As he had more time, Harry dived deeper into health education, focusing on sports injuries, injury prevention, and nutrition, particularly healthy eating. Conversations with Harry in recent years were incomplete without discussing his plant-based diet! And this became a key topic in our regular Sunday afternoon coffee sessions. While I might have embraced plant-based eating before him, once Harry adopted it, he fully committed himself to it. He meticulously studied the body’s systems, read articles, watched videos, and shared resources with anyone who needed them. He regularly consulted a science-based, non-commercial website focused on plant-based nutrition and chronic disease prevention. When the site’s author published a book to raise funds to support the free services provided, Harry bought multiple copies and went around distributing them. I was a proud recipient of one such book, and I made sure to read the more than 500 pages!

Harry became a trusted resource on health and nutrition, always ready to discuss our shared interests. His passion extended to fitness, too. He started walking regularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, took up running. Just before his trip to Nepal, Harry sent me a video about VO2 max training, asking for my thoughts. Naturally, when Harry asked, I watched the entire 30-minute clip carefully. Harry would have learned about VO2 max long before I even attempted my first endurance run. Despite his vast knowledge and experience, Harry was always prepared to learn. I’ll never forget the satisfaction I felt when he gave me a big thumbs-up after I sent him a detailed voice message about the video. My friend was taking endurance training seriously!