Sending you my deepest condolences on your loss. Irene A-Yi was my piano teacher for many years and I have many fond memories of her. She had a kind, generous heart and was a caring influence in my life. I greatly appreciated her patience and dedication to all her students. She videotaped our rehearsals and this is a keepsake I treasure. She taught me a lot not only about piano but about how to be a gentle presence. I will always be grateful that I got to spend time with her.

With gratitude,

Jen Soong

We were very sad when I heard the news of Irene's passing. We will always remember her kindness and intelligent. Jay and family please take care.

Love, Margaret and Chi-Sing Chang 

Thirty-six years ago, our daughter Dotty was lucky enough to start taking piano lessons from Irene. For the next 10 years, Irene was more than a piano teacher to Dotty. Irene taught her to always give her best, to have discipline, and mostly have the appreciation for music. To us, then, Irene was Mrs. Hsu, a respectful and dedicated teacher who passionately shared her music experiences with her students.

When Dotty went away for College, Irene and I started meeting up at the Holmdel Park to walk and to catch up with our lives. We talked about our kids, grandkids, health, life… Irene became more than just our daughter´s piano teacher Mrs. Hsu. She became a dear friend. I was very sad when she told me about moving to California. Yet, we were very glad that Jay and Irene were able to have dinner at our house the night before their journey to California. When I asked her if they have any preference or food allergies, she replied “simple and healthy would suit us well”. And that is exactly who Irene was! She was always very considerate of others, down to earth, and care for others. One thing touched me the most about Irene was her dedication to teach and to help others, especially her volunteer work to teach ESL to new immigrants so they could adjust to a new country. She was doing this volunteer work till the day before she passed away. Helping others is like a mission of her life. It brought a lot of joy to her when she saw her students doing well. She once proudly shared her ESL students publication with me. I am sure she was like an Angel to those lives that she had touched!

After their move to California, we continued to write to each other, sharing family photos, and sending each other holiday wishes. Even with Irene’s wrist pain, she still kept in touch. When she did not write back after my early August email to her, I thought she was busy with settling into their new condo. We were so shocked to get the email from Jay about Irene’s passing. We still can not believe that Irene is no longer with us. The thought about no longer being able to get her emails makes me so sad. Ben, Dotty, and I will miss her very much. She will forever in o

I am so very sad Irene has passed away. Somehow it just doesn't seem possible that such a spark of energy is stilled.

 I met Irene when I was a brand new piano teacher just starting out and was invited to join Shore Music Educators Association. I was a new mother at the time and did not have a babysitter for my little girl. I had no choice but to take her to the meeting. I was nervous about doing so, afraid of a baby outburst, afraid I would be asked to leave. Irene was the first person to approach me. Smiling. She was welcoming and I let go my held breath. She introduced me to Diane Dollak and several other teachers. That was the start of our long affiliation.

Irene held many positions in Shore Music Educators. She was a stickler for rules and incredibly well-organized. She was a calm voice of reason and negotiation when board meetings got heated, always cutting to the chase, no nonsense for her!

Those board meetings were held at her house in Holmdel many times, in the lovely lower-level piano studio. How I envied that great teaching space! Frequently I had to attend with one child  then later a second. Irene never minded. 

I especially enjoyed the SMEA lunch get-togethers when Irene contributed yummy steam buns. 

During her term as president of SMEA, Irene kept the many moving parts of our music organization running smoothly. Then for a number of years she was in charge of Student Evaluation and that event ran with nearly military precision.

In later years, when I was in charge of a large event for a state music teachers association, and overwhelmed trying to oversee the practical aspects of the spring auditions then getting results for 1,000+ students collated and mailed to teachers, followed by organizing and overseeing the multitude of awards recitals after, Irene was one of the very few teachers who offered to help. 

She, along with our good friend Lyndall Soden, came to my house, sorted audition results and stuffed envelopes, saving me  much time and labor. Her humor made and sense of calm made it a far more tolerable job. And she even did the post office run where each envelope had to be individually weighed for postage. The dirty looks from the assisting postal clerk, I am sure, did not phase Irene in the least.

.She was a lovely person who I am fortunate to have known. My condolences to Irene's entire family.