This memorial website was created to commemorate the wonderful life of Jiun Ying Chao. Jiun was the firstborn in a family of eight children. It was a time of great strife -- the family was constantly on the move to stay ahead of the advancing Japanese army. At different times, the family lived in Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Tongren.
Nevertheless, Jiun was an excellent student and went to Zhejiang University. There she met her future husband, Kwang Chu Chao (KC), who was also a student there. They both eventually moved to Taiwan and both went on to win scholarships to study in the United States. Jiun went to the University of Washington St. Louis where she received her masters degree in zoology working under the reknowned Rita Levi-Montalcini, who later won the Nobel prize.
Upon her return from the US Jiun married KC, had her first son, Howard, and taught at Taiwan University. When she and Howard eventually joined KC who had been working in the United States, Jiun chose to dedicate her life to her family. Jiun and KC had two more sons, Albert and Bernard, and the family eventually settled down in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Jiun had many interests. She was an accomplished ballroom dancer, regularly played ping pong with her friends and was a great cook. She also loved singing and travelling. She regularly published stories about her international travels in Taiwanese newspapers.
Jiun was the gentlest of souls. Her family will always remember Jiun for her kindness and patience. No matter what the problems Jiun's love and support for her family never wavered. She was the peacemaker, the reconciler. We will miss you.
Jiun is survived by her sons, Howard and Bernard, their wives, Dana and Cara, and six younger brothers and sisters. Howard and Dana live in Menlo Park, California and have two sons, Andrew and Daniel. Bernard and Cara live in Denver, Colorado and have a daughter, Chloe, and son, Zander.
Memorial service will be held for Jiun on Saturday, March 8, at the home of Howard and Dana Chao in Bonny Doon, near Santa Cruz. If you are able to come, pls contact Howard Chao at howchao@gmail.com for details. Instead of sending flowers, please consider making a donation to the Purdue Foundation in our mother's name. We hope to start a scholarship named after both Jiun Ying and Kwang Chu Chao.
Purdue University
School of Chemical Engineering
480 Stadium Mall Drive, Room 1060B
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2100
Tributes
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Howard
R.I.P. Aunty Jiun, you would be greatly missed.
It is a mixed feeling to hear the passage of your dear mother Jean. She was such a wonderful person and I had a lot of affection and admiration of her. I felt painful when I visited her a year ago to witness such a lively, witty, sweet, and friendly person succumbed to the cruel old age disease and lay in her bed unwilling to open her eyes when we told her that we were visiting her. All she said was that 'I wanted to sleep'. Your father was still alive and we had a good and somewhat 'sad' visit with him. When he was gone, my first thought was about your mother. Now she is sleeping forever. I hope that her last days were peaceful and comfortable. I am sure that in her consciousness she had prepared for the closure of her good long life. I wished this time that I had faith in God and after life so I could feel happy for her to be with her beloved husband again and to enjoy her blissful eternal life in heaven. However, even without religious faith, I still feel like to celebrate the completion of the rich and beautiful lives of your parents in the wake of the passage of your mother, my friend Jean Chao. I am also happy for them that they had good children like you to continue their legacy.
Both your parents and our good old time at Purdue when we were all young and happy will remain alive vividly and warmly in my memory,
Please accept my sincere condolences of your family's profound loss.
An old friend of your parents since the Lafayette years,
chia-hui shih
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Love
Howard
A tribute to my beloved Aunt Su
Thirty years ago, a young man worked at a small factory in Northern China, he dreamed to change his life in every aspects, he studied and worked in the best of his ability and effort to anticipate his unrealistic goals in return. As many others,the disappointments were inevitable.
In mid of 80’s, his mother was invited to a first ever Zhejiang University international reunion. She unexpectedly met many alumni from oversea after lost in contact for more than thirty years. The one that she specially mentioned who was her sister’s (deceased in college) best friend in high school and college from Indiana, USA. After the reunion they kept in touch by mail.
I was the young man, and the couple from Indiana, USA was Aunt Su and Uncle KC Chao.
My mother may have mentioned to her in their mails of my situation that I have a desire to study abroad.But it was a long shot, a delusion. As I recalled when I was growing up that other than books, we don’t even have a decent furniture in my household.
Surprisingly but surely, Aunt Su had generously promised to be my sponsor if I am accept by an university in US.
A year later, I was on my way to the first ever airplane trip to a place which was almost unknown. I remembered the notarization of sponsorship documents all the way up to the U.S. Department of State.
For me, travel to the U.S Consulate in a bigger city to be granted a visa was a bigger challenge. There were stories of rejection with many different reasons that I constantly heard from who had attempted. I was no difference than them, a poor student with broken Chinglish, only advantage was a piece of paper in my pocket that encouraged my inadequate confidence.
Here I was, face to face with the consul, she casually asked few questions and seems insouciance. I knew what I should do, I pulled out the envelop and handed it to her, said: “Ms. consul, here is a letter from my sponsor, would you mind to read it?” She did, in the end, she said to me with smile, keep the letter in a safe place, your visa has been approved, you will receive an official letter from US embassy in a week, welcome to The United States of America to continue your study, good luck! I didn’t remember how did I get home on that day.
Three months later, I was on the journey to study in US with the newly exchanged 2 "Benjamins". Aunt Su told me to concentrate in school, don’t worry about the funds, as soon as I have a bank account let them know right away. When I returned the money after a year later, she almost blamed me on the phone and make sure I was financially secured.
After graduation of my master’s degree and worked in NYC, she introduced me to their alumni’s daughter whom l married later.
For the last thirty years, we have never lost touch, my wife often chatted with them on the phone, sometimes last hours. The most memorable events were, visited them in Purdue University, my mom from China had a classmate and friend reunion in Lafayette, Indiana, Zhejiang University alumni annual reunion…..
Those indelibility good old days and time, full of endless happiness and enjoyment.
Certainly, Aunt Su’s journey is carrying on. Although, we have lost a lovely and kindly aunt, a great mother, a scholar, a poet and prose writer, a liberal world traveler…… She and Uncle Chao would be embraced together in Elysium.
May you and uncle KC Chao forever jolly dwell in eternity永享天年!
Sam Zhu and family