Ta Chun Hsu

Director

Ta Chun (T.C.) Hsu, our esteemed president emeritus and director, died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, December 27, 2015 at the age of 97. T.C. lived a full life. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word, dedicated, deeply loyal, a good friend, and counselor to generations of colleagues at the Starr Companies and The Starr Foundation.

T.C. was born in Beijing in 1918, son of Yu Hsuen Yang (mother) and Tsing Lo (Singloh) Hsu (father), brother of the late Ta Ching (Irene) Hsu and the late Vivian Hsu Jee, and beloved "Uncle T.C." to many.

T.C.'s father was one of the earliest backers of Cornelius Vander Starr's businesses in Shanghai and, when Tsing Lo Hsu was killed in the early days of World War II, Mr. Starr brought T.C. to America to complete his college education. T.C. never forgot Mr. Starr's generosity and friendship and made significant contributions to Starr's organizations over the years.

T.C. attended the University of Shanghai from 1936-1938 and graduated from Haverford College in 1942 with a B.S. in economics. He earned a masters degree at Columbia University in the School of Journalism in 1944 and began his career with the news department of the Chinese Information Service in New York. He returned to Shanghai to work on the Chinese edition of The Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, newspapers owned by Mr. Starr.

In 1947, T.C. joined the staff of the Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank until 1949, and then joined Starr's American International companies in Hong Kong and later San Francisco. In 1964, T.C. moved to New York to work directly with Mr. Starr on a variety of projects, including the management of The Starr Foundation, Mr. Starr's private philanthropic foundation.

After Mr. Starr's death in late 1968, T.C. became President of The Starr Foundation and served in that role until 1999. T.C. remained an active director of the Foundation until his death.

T.C. was laid to rest in China. A memorial service in New York City is planned for a future date.