Summary:
- A year-end roundup of SilverStreak’s most inspiring stories of 2025, celebrating seniors who continue to work, create, compete, and contribute well into their later years.
- The stories span diverse passions and paths, from healthcare, sports, and the arts to food, entrepreneurship, community building, and inclusive social causes.
- Together, they highlight ageing as a period of purpose, resilience, and reinvention, driven by personal passion and strong community connections.
A lion dancer from Singapore’s first National Day Parade. The organic troop of dancing aunties who’ve strutted their stuff at a neighbourhood garden every day for the last 10 years.
A former police investigator turned silver aikido sensei for children with special needs.
The stories of these people and more have been our source of inspiration, excitement, fulfilment, and love – and we’re sure it has been for you as well.
As we approach the end of 2025, let’s look back at the 10 most viewed profile stories from the past year.
Have a good read and recap, and here’s a Happy New Year from all of us at SilverStreak!
Advertisement
10. KK Hospital’s oldest-serving midwife still clocking in at 82
Apart from a brief retirement stint, Too Ah Kim has been actively serving at KK Hospital’s maternity ward since 1964 – so it’s only natural that she’s long lost count of how many babies she’s delivered.
She can recall the most she’s gotten through in a single night though – lucky number 13, back when Singapore was experiencing a Guiness World Record-breaking baby boom (those were the days!).
Read more here
9. Lim Ee Beng: The chairman of a century-old athletic association who performed in 20 National Day Parades
Before the high-production glitz and glamour of today’s National Day Parades, the earliest celebrations of Singapore’s independence featured spirited performances from young lion dancers – the now-80-year-old Lim Ee Beng included.
Read on for his reflections on leaping, kicking, and strutting his way through the country’s formative years, as well as the development of the historic sport.
Read more here
8. SuzyFromSingapore: The 58-year-old silver cosplayer, VIP theme park guide, and rising TikTok star
When most people retire, they usually pare back on their commitments to free up time for slower, more relaxing days. Not so for Susie Low, a silver who earns her multihyphenate title every time she puts on her suit for a charity cosplay event, or takes to the catwalk for a senior modelling shoot, or clocks hours as a theme park tour guide, or records a skit for her rising TikTok stardom.
Sounds exhausting – unless of course, you’re SuzyFromSingapore.
Read more here
7. Despite battling Parkinson’s, 72-year-old silver marathoner Vincent Chua attempts 12th full marathon
In early December, Vincent Chua became one of 55,000 runners thundering through the streets of Singapore in search of a marathon (42.192km) finish. He wasn’t just any runner – he was 72 years old, and battling Parkinson’s disease along with the morning heat and jostling crowds.
Though he ultimately decided to bow out his 12th full marathon after nearing the cut-off time at the 31km mark – “It was a sad decision, but I had to be realistic about it” – he’s planning to take on the half-marathon next year instead. Keep going, Vincent!
Read more here
6. Everdance: The dancing auntie club of Teban Gardens
If you’ve ever needed evidence of the butterfly effect, just consider the story of Everdance and how a single exercising senior turned into a 60-strong dancing troop with 10 straight years of daily meet-ups – no excuses.
Read more here
Also read:
Man Of The Match: Meet The 79-Year-Old With Over 1,000 Matchboxes Chronicling Singapore’s Past
Over the years, Yeo Hong Eng has amassed one of Singapore’s largest collections of advertising matchboxes.
Retired And Giving Back: Silver Volunteer Dedicates 30 Hours Monthly As Medical Chaperone At SGH
Johnny Leow, a retired 63-year-old navy serviceman, is a star volunteer of SGH’s Medical Chaperone programme. Since 2023, he’s dedicated around 30 hours a month to escorting seniors for medical appointments.
5. Inclusive martial art training from a family brought together by aikido
Aikido is a Japanese martial art centred around peace and oneness. It only makes sense that silver couple Patrick and Lily Chan are now channelling the discipline which transformed their lives to helping others – including children with special needs.
Read on to find out how the former police investigator and his wife are doing good with their family-run practice, Aikido Tai Shin Kai.
Read more here
4. 10 seniors aim for under six-hour marathons for SG60
Clearly, nothing says SilverStreak better than seniors conquering their fitness goals together. The SG60 Senior Marathon Quest – featuring 10 seniors coming together to finish marathons in under six hours for SG60 – turned out to be a roaring success with even more seniors joining in under the half-marathon, 10km, and 5km categories.
Tan Cheng Kok, one of the frontrunners behind the event, was happy with his timing of 5:39:44, especially since it’s been more than eight years since his last full marathon.
Read more here
3. Tang Tea House: A love story tucked within halal dim sum and Chinese food
The tale behind Tang Tea House’s silver founders Sylvia Ler and Johnny Tan has all the makings of a good love story.
The pair are polar opposites in every way except for their shared love of singing, which is how they eventually got close. Today, they’ve channelled their relationship into successfully running a Muslim-friendly dim sum and Chinese food chain with outlets all over the island.
Read more here
2. The story of Chen Fu Ji and its notorious $25 crab fried rice
Singapore’s most famously expensive $25 crab fried rice got its final toss on the wok this year with the closure of Chen Fu Ji. While longtime owner Roger Koh isn’t against handing off his brand to a worthy successor, he plans to spend his retirement days on his second love: belting out Mandopop hits of yesteryear.
Read more here
1. Uncle Chia: Parkroyal Singapore’s enigmatic birdman
It’s no secret that for most hotels, the magic happens behind the scenes. But what about the six red-whiskered bulbuls providing melodic birdsong in the atrium of the Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay hotel?
For that, you can only ask the proud owner and manager of the beautiful, feathered fowls. Meet Chia Eng Seng, the 87-year-old better known as the Birdman of Parkroyal. He tells us all about living and breathing his dream job with no breaks, 365 days a year – though of course, a magician never reveals all his secrets.
Read more here
