Ratha Tan
January 18, 1963 – April 21, 2025
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Ratha (Tito) Tan of Malden, Massachusetts. Tito passed away on April 21, 2025, at the age of 62 from pancreatic cancer, surrounded by loved ones.
Devoted father to his 2 daughters, Alicia and Isabelle Tan, and devoted husband to Davy Tan (née Lek).
Tito was born on January 18, 1963, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to the late Tang Tan and Kim Sean Tan (née Ing). He spent his early childhood in the Battambang province of Cambodia with his siblings, Chhourath (Roth) Tan, Patrick Tan, and Sophie Rueda (née Tan).
In 1975, at the age of 12, Tito and his brother, Roth, fled to Thailand to escape the genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge. From Thailand they were taken to the United States where they were adopted by Edward P. O’Donnell of Boston. As Tito grew up under Ed, he learned and inherited many of Ed’s practices and beliefs in kindness and faith. Tito’s journey through faith was guided by St. Padre Pio, whom he unfailingly prayed to until his last days. Through his prayers, 4 years later, Tito reunited with his family in Boston, all of whom had survived the Khmer Rouge regime.
Tito received a bachelor's in Chemistry from Dartmouth College, where he attributes his affinity for Green Eggs and Ham. He continued on to earn a master’s in International Relations from Lesley University.
While working on his master’s, he simultaneously was a visiting lecturer at Cornell University’s Southeast Asia Summer Studies Institute (SEASSI) program. Some of his most notorious moments stemmed from his work in 1990-1992 with the SEASSI, teaching his students Khmer in eclectic ways, including the use of water guns and flash mobs.
With the courage to restore the beauty of his homeland, Tito served as an electoral officer for the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) from 1992-1993. Not only did he use his time there to find the love of his life, Davy, but he also helped establish a free and fair electoral process.
Upon returning to America, Tito dedicated his career to computer science, becoming a principal support software engineer at Siebel Systems from 1999-2008, a senior production support engineer for Intuit from 2009-2017, and then an IT specialist for Vestmark from 2018 until his Pancreatic Cancer diagnosis in January of 2024.
He was known for his kindness and the empathy it inspired, his devout faith and belief in God, his wicked sense of humor, and his stories that kept the history of our family and culture alive. Not only do we lose a husband, father, uncle, grandpa, friend, but we lose the history and the unique perspective that he carried and shared. Tito enjoyed advocating for the less fortunate through his work with various Cambodian charities that provided supplies for children in poverty, funds for St Padre Pio’s foundation, and so much more. When he was not telling stories or working with charities, he could be found cooking and eating good food inspired by YouTube videos, planting tulips with his favorite (and only) granddaughter Alice, or coaching his youngest daughter on her tennis serve.
Tito is survived by his wife, Davy Kim Tan, his daughters, Alicia and Isabelle Tan, his mother, Kim Sean Tan, his siblings Chhourath Tan, Patrick Tan, and Sophie Rueda, his granddaughter Alice, his many dear nephews and nieces, and a wide circle of devoted friends.
Relatives & friends are invited to attend his funeral from the Breslin Funeral Home, 610 Pleasant St., Malden on Friday May 2nd at 9 AM followed by his Funeral Mass celebrated at Immaculate Conception Church, 600 Pleasant St, Malden at 10 AM. Services will conclude with interment in Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden. Visiting hours will be held at the funeral home on Thursday May 1st from 4-8 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Cambodian Children’s Fund in Tito’s memory.