Chin Hwei Lu's Obituary
“Charlie” (1924-2015)Chin Hwei Lu, 90, passed away peacefully on April 20, 2015 with his family by his side. He was a scientist and scholar, but most of all he was a wonderful husband and father. Chin (also known as Charlie) and Snowlily, his wife of 55 years, worked hard, raised three children, traveled the world and lived the American Dream.Those who knew Charlie will remember that his passions included geography, taking daily walks, going to the Fremont Senior Center for a delicious lunch, and anything concerning China (especially eating authentic Chinese food, watching Chinese TV, listening to Chinese music, and doing Tai-Chi every day)/His other great enjoyment in life was saving his earnings and investing in the stock market, where he would diligently and meticulously track his stocks on a daily basis.Charlie was born on July 23, 1924 (in the solar calendar) in Guangzhou, China. He was the second oldest among ten children. His family moved around during the Chinese-Japanese War, once even narrowly escaping a mortar shell which hit next door to the family’s home when he was 13. Despite these tumultuous times, he studied hard and became the Valedictorian of his prestigious boarding school in Guangzhou. After receiving his Bachelors Degree in Guilin, China in 1948, he passed the China National Examination Test for college graduates with the highest honors as one of the top 3 students from all of Guangdong Province. He was thus appointed a government job in Taiwan as a chemical engineer where he worked until 1954.Charlie always wanted to come to America, so he applied and received a full ride scholarship to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) to attend graduate school. To obtain the international ship passage in third class, he borrowed the entire $315. He landed first in San Francisco on September 14, 1954, and then headed east to VPI. He obtained his Masters Degree in 1956 and then came back to VPI to pursue his Doctorate in 1958. It was during that time on campus that he met his wife, Snowlily Tsang Lu, who was pursuing her Masters Degree. They were wed in the campus chapel on September 17, 1960.Charlie received his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 1961 and for the next 32 years worked as a Scientist/Research Engineer developing toner and ink technologies for copy machines. Charlie and Snowlily’s first house was in Peabody, MA where he worked for Monsanto. In 1969 they moved to Webster, NY where he worked for Xerox. In 1984 they moved to Fremont, CA where he worked for Versatec. During his career he was granted 89 patents for his toner inventions, which was always one of his proudest accomplishments. After his retirement in 1990, he was the Director of Research for the start-up company, Trendtone Imaging, in Taiwan in 1991. He finally retired in 1993 of his years in Fremont, CA.Charlie came to America as a poor graduate student looking for a better life. Sixty-one years later, he left this world a richer place with family, technological advancements spanning a 40-year career, and the legacy of a great man. He is survived by his wife Snowlily, daughter Lisa, sons Edward and Rick, daughters-in-law Christine and Ephi, and four grandchildren, Alexander, Malia, Brandon, and Alexis. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his memory to:Fremont Senior Center Attn: Linda Olla PO Box 5006 Fremont, CA 94538
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