Julia Sun Fang's Obituary
Julia (Feng-Mei) Sun Fang, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and sister, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Burlingame, CA, follow-ing a courageous battle with ALS. She was 92 years old.
Born on May 21, 1933, in Qingdao, China, Julia came of age during one of his-tory's most turbulent eras. As a young woman, her family fled mainland China for Taiwan in the wake of the Communist revolution — a journey that would set the course for a remarkable life defined by resilience, intellectual curiosi-ty, and deep devotion to family.
In the 1950s, Julia made the courageous leap across the Pacific, immigrating to the United States in search of opportunity and a better life. She enrolled at Siena Heights College in Michigan, graduating in 1957, before continuing her studies in Chicago, where she earned a Master's degree in Education from Loyola University. It was there that she met the love of her life, Hsai-Yang (H.Y.) Fang. They married in 1960 and built a life together that spanned dec-ades and countless shared adventures — moving through West Virginia and Princeton, New Jersey, before ultimately settling in Bethlehem, Pennsylva-nia. There, they raised their family and put down deep roots in the academic community, where H.Y. served as a professor of Civil Engineering.
At Lehigh University, Julia became the first instructor to offer Chinese lan-guage courses, opening a door that had never before existed at the institu-tion. Her passion for Chinese culture extended well beyond the classroom — she delivered public lectures on the historical sites of China and the ancient Silk Routes, and served on Lehigh's East Asian Studies Committee, embody-ing in every sense the spirit of cross-cultural education.
Julia had an adventurer's heart, and no destination was too exotic or too far. She happily accompanied H.Y. to academic conferences around the world, turning each trip into an opportunity for discovery. Over the course of her life, she visited more than 65 countries — from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Australia to the far reaches of Asia, including the remarkable city of Lha-sa, Tibet.
After forty years in Pennsylvania, Julia and H.Y. relocated to San Mateo, Cali-fornia, to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Julia is survived by her son, Andrew Fang; her daughter, Janice Stern; and her beloved grandchil-dren, Ryan and Sophia Fang. She is also survived by her siblings: Stella Ma, Fen Jun Tsai, Linda Sun, Fay Lee, Nancy Sun, Esther Fu, Ann Lo, and Robert Sun. She was preceded in death by her husband, Hsai-Yang Fang, and by her siblings Victor Sun and Helen Chang.
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