Thursday, February 3 | 10:30 AM
John was born into a matriarchal family in Shanghai China. With curiosity and teenage energy levels, he pursued Tai Chi and singing guided by nurturing masters. Disrupted by war in 1947, he fled to Taiwan to complete college at National Taiwan University in Electrical Engineering. Hungry for experience, he rotated through various departments at Taiwan Power plant under his father’s direction. Always seeking room for improvement, he immigrated to the University of MN joining other fellow college alumni. In 1955, he began his master’s degree and secured a summer job at Columbus Southern Power to support himself. Assigned to work on protective relay settings, he solved a long-standing power outages problem with calculations confirmed by an Ohio State University professor. At that time, he met “my girl” on the Ohio State University campus. So, he quickly completed his master’s degree at UM. Returning in 1956 and marry her at St John the Baptist Church in Columbus by an Italian Missionary Priest who performed the ceremony in Chinese putting them on the front-page headline in “college town” local paper. Now needing “practical “experience, he found a position in Honeywell. In order to match his wife’s degree status, he pursued a doctorate in automatic controls systems in Electrical Engineering at UM while continuing to work part time to support his new family. After graduation in 1970, an opportunity emerged to participate in the Shuttle Ascent digital flight control system design and test. After long deliberation and support by his spouse, he moved the family to Clearwater, FL to begin on the project that earned him the Honeywell’s Sweatt Award in 1980. He continued with space station projects in the following decade. In 1993, he retired 1) to take a trip to China 2) pay more attention to my wife’s needs 3) learn new things and 4) enjoy a care – free lifestyle. He remained active in Honeywell retirees, PL brothers Florida branch and SACA while earning a license to fix appliances, becoming a master gardener, and participating in tai chi workshops by master Yang Jun while attending local tai chi session at USF and nearby park. He began to assume care for his wife who developed Alzheimer’s and reluctantly placed her in assisted care facility with daily visits to be with her He relocated to MN after her passing to spend more time with his daughter and ROMEO lunch group introduced by longtime friend while continuing daily tai chi and starting more intensive bible study in small group sessions led by spouse of old Honeywell colleague Dorothy Seashore here at Our Lady of Grace and one on one questions to Father Bob Schwartz to guide direction. He was happy, sincere, humorous family man who loved dining with family and friends, fishing up north and spending time with wife and daughter.
