Kenneth Fan's Obituary
Kenneth Fan of Redwood City, CA dies at Washington Hospital on March 11th at approximately11:20 PM.He was born on July 31st, 1933 in Shinju City, Taiwan, to Mr. Ting-Siang and Mrs. Ying-Mei Fan. He graduated from the National University of Taiwan with Bachelor of Science in Agricultural/Industrial Engineering, in 1956 and later received the Master of Science in Civil Engineering from George Washington University, in1986. On December 19, 1960, he was married to Jamie Fu, who was a caring teacher in the home town of Shinju City of Taiwan. Together with Jamie started a family without much money and a new career in civil engineering.Kenneth was a honest, good natured and humorous person with a strong sense of justice since his childhood. He was born as the third child among 11 survived children in the rural village in Taiwan, nurtured by a strict father, Ting-Siang and a caring mother, Ying-Mei, both of whom were teachers. He was athletic, artistic and generous. He received black belt in Judo, won prizes for his swimming skill, 5000-meter track and field competitions and being a rear guard in the university rugby team. He played flute and studied to be a classical opera tenor in university. He made great many friends in Taiwan and in the US. He was often very protective of his families and friends.Throughout his life, Kenneth followed his dreams and ideals with great resolve. Not satisfying just being a good engineer, he entered into jewelry industry and became a successful jewelry designer who can process and prepare precious stones including diamonds. He even designed his own machine for polishing diamonds. He taught Math in high school for few years. In 1978, his whole family moved to the US and settle down in Erie PA, started his first gift shop in the US. Subsequently, in 1982, he returned to be a civil engineer and moved to Rockville, MD. He was first in his company who translated several complicated calculating processes into basic programs, thus efficiently reduce the mistakes and increase profits. He was a good singer, teacher and an excellent engineer. He was a leader among peers.Kenneth was a caring husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife, Jamie, two sons and daughter-in-laws and five grandchildren. His elder son Simon Fan, married to Yi-Jun with three children, Rebecca, Caleb, and Joshua. His younger son Leo Fan married to Bi-Fen with two children, Justine and Curtis. Even until his death, Kenneth never forgot about his life love, being a tenor and share the music and joy with his family and friends. He continued his practice with singing everyday even before his development of dementia. Singing not only give him hope and joy but also give him his identity and inspiration for his children and grandchildren. His music teacher commented that “Though Ken is the oldest among my students, he is most diligent, talented and passionate one …”
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