Caroline (Tien-chi) Kiang
Beloved wife, sister, aunt, and friend, Caroline T. (Tien-chi) Kiang passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 16, 2025.
A horticulturist, teacher, and community builder with lifelong devotion to plants and people, Caroline transformed gardening on Long Island. She was born on July 9, 1943, in Chongqing, China during the Sino-Japanese War, to Chung Tao Kiang and Chien-yi Tai Kiang. Caroline fled with her family to Yilan, Taiwan in 1948 and it was there that she first cultivated her passion for plants and gardening—interests that would shape her life’s work.
Caroline came to the United States in 1966 and earned a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of California, Berkeley in 1970. After relocating to New York in 1972, she joined Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County to become the county’s first female agricultural extension agent and lead its home horticulture program. In 1977, she founded the Suffolk County Master Gardener program, which grew into the largest and one of the most respected in New York State. Over a 35-year career, Caroline trained and mentored more than 1,500 Master Gardeners, provided over 20,000 hours of hands-on learning and launched annual spring gardening classes for the public as well as numerous community gardens. She built community with patience, generosity, and deep respect for learners of every age and experience level.
A lifelong learner herself, Caroline earned a second master’s degree from Cornell University in floriculture and ornamental horticulture, served as president of the national Perennial Plant Association, and led innovative education programs for teachers and youth. Even in retirement, she continued to teach through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Stony Brook University, sharing her knowledge with the same enthusiasm that defined her career.
Caroline married Bruce Amundsen of Aquebogue in 1983. She is survived by him as well as her sisters Alice Lean (Eric, Eugenia and Angela) of Walnut Creek, Calif. and New York, N.Y., Betty Chu (Paul and CT) of Taiwan and San Jose, Calif., Dorothy Yuan (Sam, John) of Huntington, N.Y. and Silver Spring, Md., and Elizabeth Wei (Tony, Catherine and Matthew) of San Jose, Calif., Burbank, Calif. and Houston, Texas, as well as many grandnieces and grandnephews.
Caroline’s family and friends were central to her happiness; her kindness, wisdom, energy and zest for life will be deeply missed by all who loved and knew her.
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