Lasting Memories

Ching Chen Chu
Nov. 5, 1922-Feb. 11, 2013
Palo Alto, California
Submitted by Gilbert Chu

Ching Chen Chu, 90, died Feb. 11, 2013 from complications of arterial insufficiency in her legs. She was born in Tianjin, China, the oldest of 3 girls and 2 boys. Her father Shu-tian Li earned a PhD in civil engineering from Cornell, and was president of Peiyang University (now Tianjin University), a leading engineering school in China. She graduated from Nankai High School, Tianjin, and earned an economics degree in 1944 from Tsinghua University, which had moved south to Kunming to avoid the war. Ching was celebrated for her striking beauty, and during her freshman year, she was introduced to Ju Chin Chu, who had just graduated from Tsinghua with a chemistry degree. Ching left a privileged life in China, traveling first to Calcutta, and then to Cambridge, MA, where Ju Chin was finishing his ScD in chemical engineering at MIT. They married in 1945, and two years later, Ju Chin joined the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis. In 1950, to escape the midwestern summers, Ju Chin joined the faculty at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now Polytechnic Institute of NYU), soon settling in Garden City, NY, because of the school system. In 1968, the family moved to Orange County, CA, where Ju Chin worked in the aerospace industry before retiring. Ju Chin died in 2000. In 2004, Ching moved to Palo Alto to be closer to family. During her last years, Ching avoided exercise, but enjoyed eating, particularly at Su Hong Restaurant where the staff treated her like royalty. She is survived by sons Gilbert, Steven and Morgan, and by grandsons Geoff, Michael, Alex and Jason. Friends and family will celebrate her life on Saturday May 4 in Palo Alto.

From Mei Mei
May 3, 2013

Dear Chu Family, I was deeply saddened at the news of Auntie Ching's passing and I hope that she did not suffer too much. Besides my own parents, hers is a voice that I have in my earliest of memories. I had the chance to stay with them several times until 2003 or 04. We had nice visits and sharing of our parenting. She was very proud of my children and I of hers. Although many years apart, we had much wisdom to share. I have to tell you that she was so proud of all three of her sons as well as her grandchildren. She may not have expressed it enough but she truly was. As a kind friend once pointed out to me, observe their actions and not their words. She shared with me all the times she took you places to do research in different libraries such as the nearby Queens Public and of driving you off to attend college. She even shared with me why she thought Steven won the Nobel Prize ;-) . Our parenting experiences crossed many paths and in our friendship after my becoming an adult was a valued friendship. I will miss her friendship and her kind and expressive voice. Love, Mei Mei