Dwun-Hou Tom Chen was born on October 17, 1956 in Pingtung, Taiwan, welcomed into the world by his father Yuchin Chen, mother Yongxue Yang and three older sisters Yufen, Hsiufen and Hsiuchi. 

At the tender age of 5, he was already cooking his first meal. His family had a menagerie of animals - they even had a monkey! - and he loved taking care of all of their little zoo, especially his treasured and beloved dogs.

He went on to study Chemistry at Tamkang University. He became class president, met his wife and fellow classmate Shu Chuan (Emily) Lin, and they spent many happy moments hiking, mountaineering,  and eating great Taiwanese food with their friends. Shortly after graduation,  Emily and Tom married in 1982. In 1983, they moved to America to pursue graduate degrees at Auburn University - Emily, her masters; Tom, his Ph.D in Biochemistry. They lived all over the east coast - from Alabama to Philadelphia; to Cherry Hill New Jersey, and finally Rockville Maryland. He loved to travel for business, and was even in United Airlines's Million Mile Club since he flew so much. Together, the family traveled to Chile, New Zealand, Taiwan and many beautiful national parks in their home country of America. 

Tom was deeply devoted to his research and utilized his specialty in protein purification to further evolve the field of drug development.  During the course of his career, Dr. Chen published papers, gave presentations, and co-authored a patent for "Sequential Protein Isolation and Purification Schemes by Affinity Chromatography".  He was just as passionate about supporting his colleagues and mentoring aspiring scientists, and made many wonderful friendships and lasting connections. His community appreciated his patience, warmth and generosity. 

Anyone who knew Tom knew that he was the most loving father and husband a family could ask for. He is survived by his wife Emily (64, retired), his children, Ruby (37, program management director at a cybersecurity company) (Spouse Thaddeus), and Stephen (30, an orthopedic resident at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) (Spouse Chelsea), and his three grand-fur-children: Gingham (Dog), Paisley (Dog) and Pumpkin (Cat). The family plans to scatter his ashes with the remains of his beloved dogs Mimi and Hana throughout beautiful national parks in the world.  

A memorial service will be held on Sat July 16 at 11 am EST: in-person at Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home in Silver Spring, MD and virtually on Zoom.  Flowers can be sent to Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home, c/o The Chen Family, 11800 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20904.

陳敦厚博士(Tom)生於西元1956年10月17日台灣屏東，家中除了父親陳玉琴、母親楊咏雪外，還有三個姊姊（郁芬、秀芬、秀姬）。

從小，他就對烹飪充滿興趣，五歲時，曾在母親以及鄰居面前，為自己煮了一碗香味四溢的炒飯，讓大家看得驚嘆連連。而自小喜愛動物的他，也曾在家中後院養了不少小動物，其中還包括一隻猴子，以及他最愛的小狗。

大學時期，他主修化學，曾擔任班代及系學會會長。而熱愛親近自然山林的他，在加入登山社後，也成了幹部之一。在師長眼中，他認真負責、親力親為；在同學眼中，他好客熱情、正直善良，也因此，在課餘時，他的宿舍總是聚滿了來訪的同學和朋友們。

大學畢業後，他和交往多年的大學同班同學林淑娟於1982年結婚。隔年，他們先後前往美國奧本大學攻讀研究所，並分別完成生化博士學位(他）和碩士學位(她）。在留美將近四十年裡，他們的居住地隨著求學和工作地點，遍及美國東岸，從阿拉巴馬州、賓州費城、紐澤西州櫻桃崗，最後落腳於馬里蘭州的洛克威爾市。除此，他們一家也喜愛旅遊，曾去過智利、紐西蘭、台灣、以及美國許多國家公園，每次家庭旅遊中，總留下美好且難忘的回憶。

陳博士對工作的態度，就如同他學生時代對負責的學務一樣專注認真、盡心盡力。本著他在蛋白質純化領域的專業知識，致身投入於藥品研發；他除了發表研究報告、專題演說、更於2011年取得「利用親和層析，有序地進行蛋白質分離和純化」的專利持有者之一。不論擔任公司副總裁或是其他公司的顧問，他總是待人以誠、不吝於提供任何指導和協助，曾與他共事或接觸過的人，無不對他的耐心、溫暖以及慷慨大方，感念在心。

陳博士身後留下妻子林淑娟Emily（64歲，退休）、女兒陳瑋婷Ruby（37歲，網路安全公司專案管理主管，配偶Thaddeus）、兒子陳綱Stephen（30歲，匹茲堡大學醫學中心骨科住院醫師，配偶Chelsea）、以及三隻孫字輩的毛小孩：Gingham (狗)、Paisley (狗) 、以及Pumpkin (貓)。陳博士生前嚮往大自然，為完成其遺願，家人預計將其骨灰，隨同他摯愛的小狗Mimi及Hana的骨灰，一同撒在附近的國家公園裡。

追思紀念會將在美東時間7月16日星期六早上11點（台灣時間7月16日星期六晚上11點）於馬里蘭州銀泉區的Hines-Rinaldi殯儀館舉行。無法親自與會者，亦可透過網路視訊Zoom參加（相關資訊詳見Events的標籤頁面上）。

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