Thomas Chih Cheng Peng
December 28, 1954-March 30, 2022
Peng, Thomas Chih Cheng, 67, died on March 30, 2022 after an extended illness. Tom was born on December 28, 1954 in Tainan, Taiwan to Yao and Julie Peng. He immigrated to the United States when he was nine years old and grew up in Milford, CT. He attended Johns Hopkins University where he met his wife of 41 years, Ellyn. While he claimed his lifelong dream was to be a forest ranger, after his graduation from college, he matriculated at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and graduated with his M.D. in 1980. He completed an internal medicine residency at Northwestern University; however, midway through his first residency, he found his passion caring for expectant mothers and their babies and decided to pursue a second residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He returned to Baltimore, Maryland to complete an OBGYN residency followed by a Maternal Fetal Medicine fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. Following his fellowship, he worked at Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Virginia Commonwealth University from 1989 until 2016 where he remained double boarded in internal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology. Tom was a beloved member of the MCV faculty. Although he was notorious for forgetting his residents’ names, he genuinely loved mentoring others and was frequently recognized for his dedication to teaching. He was known for his compassion, his goofy sense of humor, and his love and pride for his family. Tom is survived by his wife, Ellyn Marie Swanson, son, Timothy Li-Ming Swanson Peng, and daughter, Katherine Li-Ling Swanson Peng. He is also survived by his sister, Linda Lacy (James), brother, John Peng (Siobhan), and many nieces and nephews. A private memorial service will be held at the convenience of his family. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to support the MCV Foundation https://www.mcvfoundation.org/give.
Dr. Peng was perhaps the greatest clinician and one-on-one clinical teacher I have ever encountered. He was brilliant for sure, but also kind, patient and funny. As a resident and fellow faculty member, he elevated our standards simply by encouraging us all to be our best by his own example. He made learning fun. He will always be one my role models for being a physician and person. To all of his family and friends, please know that you are all in my thoughts.
What an amazing human , teacher and physician. I am so fortunate to have learned from Dr. Peng- and will always remember his uncanny ability to know the answer to every question, his gentle demeaner (especially in his support of his patients during childbirth) and his remarkable diagnostic instincts. I’ll never forget him supervising me as a young new doctor during a delivery – where he had me “just watch”- and trust the process. With humility and unwavering kindness, he demonstrated trauma informed care before it had a name.
His legacy lives through me, and so many of my colleagues caring for patients. Thank you for showing me how to be quiet when needed, and direct when necessary. You are a legend to so many of us, and are greatly missed.
I had the distinct pleasure and honor of working in the MFM division at MCV/VCU with Tom from 1998 until his departure in 2016. I, too, can relate many stories of his …sense of humor. He made me laugh CONSTANTLY. I don’t think he realized how funny he was! He called most of the female residents and sonographers “Heather” because he could not remember any one’s name. He was of course BRILLIANT, and was always willing to discuss cases with me as a fresh from fellowship grad. He was ever the educator, and a stellar one at that. One of the things that I recall him saying (on more than one occasion), that made me truly love him as a physician, is a tenet that I continue to live by in my own professional life. As many before me have said, he was indeed one to emulate. I have missed him terribly since he left, and I get misty-eyed when I come across his name in a chart. Dear Peng-Swanson family: I am terribly sorry the loss of your husband, brother, and parent. Please know that I feel your pain, and share your sadness.
Tom possessed the rare asset of great knowledge tempered by common sense and kindness. My respect for him has no bounds. I consider the fact that we were colleagues for more than twenty five years an invaluable gift and quite an honor. I considered him a true friend.
My heart is filled with sorrow today having learned of his passing. Deepest sympathy to the Peng/Swanson family.
I share with my colleagues our immense sadness at the passing of this incredible physician. He was the one you would turn to when you could not figure out what was going on with a patient and he spent much time helping us with these very difficult cases. He is the smartest physician I know and was invariably kind and giving. I remember starting out as MFM faculty unfamiliar with GYN scans and managed to put in the data for a whole day at Stony Point with the decimal in the wrong place ( mm vs cm)–not only did he not chide me for this he quickly corrected it for me as he knew how disheartened I was –that was just the kind of guy he was. He will be sorely missed. We always knew we were in good hands when Dr. Peng walked on to L and D.
Dr. Peng was an amazing physician and person. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him as an OB sonographer from 2009-2016. He was so much fun to be around, he had a wealth of knowledge about everything pregnancy and ultrasound related, and his patients absolutely adored him. He taught me so much of what I know today about ultrasound and was a wonderful mentor. I’m sorry to hear of his passing and will keep all of his family in my thoughts and prayers. He was unforgettable.
Dear Ellyn, Tim and Katie,
We are sending many warm thoughts and much love to you all.
Lise and Jeff Orth
I can only add to the love and respect already shared by Tom’s colleagues and trainees. My privilege to work with him and admire his skills for over twenty years can’t be overstated. Our community and the profession has lost a great talent. Tom’s family has lost more. He was and is a noble and gentle soul.
Dr Seeds! So nice just to see your name. Love you and miss you very much. I quote you often (even some times correctly!). Hope you are well and happy.
Gary Agena
I absolutely loved working with Dr. Peng. He had a
dry sense of humor. He insisted that we call him
Tom.
I told him no disrespect but I cannot bring myself
to do that. I would always refer to him as Dr. Peng.
When he became a professor, we didn’t find out
until he received a letter that was sent to the
Nelson Clinic addressed to him as Professor Tom
Peng. Renee asked him why didn’t he tell us, he
Just shrugged it off like it was no big deal.
He was such a humble person. My condolences to
the family.
He is one of the most amazing teachers I have ever known. Many of the greatest lessons he ever taught me were not about being a doctor, but about being a great human being. I continue to admire him so much. My deepest condolences to his family. Just knowing him was such a gift.
I was a nurse in Labor and Delivery for 43 years, and he was one of my favorite physicians. He was always kind and respectful to the nurses. We loved him. He always remember our names.
I recall with fondness a discussion I had with him years ago. I grew up on a farm in the Shenandoah Valley, and I mentioned to him how we used to barter with our barn full of “wormy chestnut” lumber. I could not understand how someone of his intellect and medical background would be so knowledgeable about this now extinct tree. Then he shared with me his passion and love for forestry…
I used to tell him that if I were ever on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” he would be my “Phone a Friend.”
Such a brilliant, kind, funny and humble man. Jane Mendez-Picon
Dr. Peng was one of the most compassionate physicians I’ve ever known. I remember a day when one of his patients suffered another tragic loss. He couldn’t help her baby, but he sat and held her hand for hours. This was over 22 years ago. He helped teach Bill the nuts and bolts of maternal fetal medicine, but in addition, he showed him the human side of their shared passion for mothers and babies. Thank you, Dr. Peng, for your dedication to you profession, your patients, and the many residents whom you educated. We send our heartfelt condolences. Sincerely, Bill and Sally Goodnight
Our thoughts are with you during this difficult time. It’s hard to believe that we met you and Tom when our kids we’re preschoolers. It sounds like he was loved by his colleagues. Hold on to the wonderful memories that you have of him.
I echo many of the sentiments shared by all. He seemed a physician without an ego. He never appeared harried or stressed, I asked him one time how he was able to be like that and he said, I can only do what I can do and there are things I cannot change. I was lucky to have worked with him as both as a new midwife starting a hospital based midwifery practice at VCU and again when starting a community practice. He was always available to guide care in complex cases and even just be a sounding board when needed. Tom recognized that pregnant women needed emotional support as well as medical care through a pregnancy and recognize the value of nurse midwives. He and I shared many patients and he would joke that the midwife patients were higher risk than his own patients. I have missed him greatly since he left VCU and am saddened by his passing. Thinking of Ellyn, Katie and Tim at this time and hoping the wonderful memories and the love sustain you.
Dear Ellyn, Katie and Tim,
You are in our thoughts and prayers. We can only begin to imagine, the loss you must be feeling. Tom was a wonderful husband and a great father! May God give you strength to deal with the great loss. With our deepest sympathy.
Ravi and Ashok
It’s so interesting to read all the comments about Tom, the doctor. It’s clear that the kind, sweet, funny, modest Tom i knew back in university was unchanged by success. It’s so remarkable. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to know him. Ellyn, Katie and Tim i hope that your memories will be a comfort to you now and in the future. You are always in my thoughts. All my love, Batsheva
I am saddened to hear this news and my condolences to the family. I worked as a nurse practitioner and Dr. Peng is responsible for providing me with the knowledge to assist in caring for high risk OB patients. He never made me feel intimidated when I had questions and was just absolutely brilliant .
Ellyn, Tim and Katie,
I am so saddened by the news of Tom’ passing. He was a brilliant man and he passed that on to Tim and Katie. Please know you all are in my prayers. It’s been wonderful reading the messages from all the people he touched in his life. What a good life he lived.
Dr. Peng was so amazing. I though he didn’t know my name and when he called me Beth I was shocked. so funny because he said “YES ” he knew my name. He made us laugh in ultrasound all the time. He loved to tell us what Tim and Katie were up to. He said he tried to talk Katie out of going into medicine. I have great memories of him and have thought of him often. My hope is that he is peaceful.. RIP Tom.
I worked in Ob/Gyn for 20 years as support staff(admin & purchasing agent (1990-2010). Dr. Peng was one of the first doctors I worked for when I started as a temp. Many doctors can be intimidating to the office staff but not so with Tom. He was always very kind and understanding and someone that I considered a friend. He was a compassionate doctor and I know he is sorely missed by many people and his family.
My heart is saddened by the loss of this amazing person.
Paige Harvey
I am so very sorry to hear of Dr. Pengs passing. After over 30 years of employment as a Registered Nurse, I will Always remember Dr. Peng. He was my OB physician. I was high risk and he was the best of the best. It is not easy living through a pregnancy of multiple challenges. Dr. Peng had so much knowledge and skill. He made me feel very calm, he made me feel very safe. He was a gifted physician and he will never be forgotten. I pray love and peace to his family during this very difficult time.
I was saddened to learn of Tom’s passing. I was not surprised to read of the many lives he touched. I did not know Tom throughout his astonishing professional achievements. I did not know him as the loving and beloved husband and father that he would become. These are my losses.
I do, however, have fond memories of the youth that I did have the pleasure of knowing..We met as freshmen at Johns Hopkins and regularly crossed paths as we mingled with our mutual dorm buddies. He was so intelligent, so kind, so thoughtful, so gentle and oh, so very funny! He was tall, too. And that abundant beautiful hair of his.
My sincere condolences and prayers are will those he loved. .I cannot begin to know the depths of your sorrow. I do know that your memories of your years together, though cruelly cut short, will continue to bring you great joy. You will share his laughter again.
I know Tom over years and he’s my uncle
I just attended our 50th reunion high school reunion and discovered Tom had passed away. We were good friends all through grammar Scholl and high school. So sad to hear of his passing.
I be am deviated, I never got to say thank you for go the once in a life time 2 miracles . A procedure that was never done at MCV , taking my son out of the womb and sewing my cervix up top and bottom for me to have a child after so many miscarriages, I thank you, I thank you for for my Sons … Knowing that you have past brings me to tears , Thank you Deronda 2kids later 8043978455
It is with great privilege to share that a donation has been made by Dr. Jeffrey Kuller (Duke University) to the Foundation for the Society for Maternal and Fetal Medicine in honor of Dr. Peng. This tribute will be added to the Foundation’s website and Honor Your Mentor Section.
I worked with Tom when he first arrives at MCV . He was a wonderful man and doctor ! I will always remember what a special man he was and loved his family ! Love to his family !