Eileen Lingying Wiley

Eileen Lingying Wiley passed away peacefully on May 12, 2025, in Arizona, her adopted home in the United States. 

She is survived by her husband Terrence “Terry,” with whom she shared 43 years of marriage, and three sons (and their wives) Kris (Karen), Kevin (Kim), and Aaron (Amanda), as well as her eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Eileen was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1946, where she lived with her loving father Yi Hwang Chen, mother Miki Chen-Chang, and her three brothers. Eileen graduated from Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Girls' Senior High School in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei, Taiwan, where she graduated in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in Spanish. She emigrated to the United States in 1976 where, in California, she was a successful owner-manager of two Best Westerns (a hotel and a motel) and, later, a small factory in Orange County. Retiring in 2000, she moved with Terry to Arizona, where they resided until they relocated to Maryland near Washington, DC, from 2010 to 2017. She returned to Arizona with Terry in 2017, upon his retirement.

Eileen always had a strong interest in art broadly, as well as East Asian aesthetics. After retirement, she became a licensed Ikebana instructor and learned Chinese flower painting. She loved classical music and traveled extensively with Terry in Asia, Europe, South America, and Mexico, as well as much of the United States. She was especially fond of Spain, the U.S. Southwest, and her native Taiwan.

Eileen made lasting friendships everywhere she lived. She is deeply loved by, and greatly enriched the lives of, all who knew her.

A visitation will be held for Eileen on Saturday May 31st from 10 AM - 12 PM at W&M Bueler Mortuary; 14 West Hulet drive, Chandler, AZ 85225. A Memorial service will begin at Noon following the visitation.