Nai Chin “Nelson” Koo, aged 100, was born in Zhejiang Province, China. His father was a medical doctor in a private clinic. Nelson fled to Shanghai to escape the advancing Japanese armies and to further his studies. He studied agriculture in college and became an expert in tea production.
After college, he moved to Fujian Province. He got married and in 1945. Fleeing the Communists, he moved his family to Taipei to work for the Taiwan Ministry of Economics Affairs.
In the 1970’s, the United Nations and Taiwan’s government sent Nelson to Bolivia to head up the development of tea plantations and other crops like pineapple. The original team consisted of five experts. When the project concluded almost 13 years later, over 70 subject-matter experts had worked on the project. During this time, Nelson’s family lived in La Paz, Bolivia. “I took a one month crash course in Spanish before we moved to Bolivia.”
After his retirement, he lived in Atlanta, Georgia with his son for over 27 years. He now lives in Orangevale with his daughter, Teacy Koo. Although Nelson says his only hobby is working, his daughter says he loves to sing Chinese opera. What’s his secret to a long life? “I eat, sleep, rest, work hard, and help others. I’m happy everyday, all the time.” Sounds like a wise philosophy to live by.
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