Esther Wang Kuo

Esther Wang Kuo passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Apex, North Carolina on Saturday, January 6, 2024. Her husband and family were by her side. She passed away from congestive heart failure. She was 88 years old.

Esther was born Tsu-Chiang Wang on April 6, 1935 in Hebei Province, China. Her father was Fa Tang Wang and mother was Rong Ling Liu. Esther was the second oldest of four children. The late Min-Chiang Wang was her older sister and Esther was the older sister to Richard Wang and the late Helen Wang.

Esther grew up in war-torn China, and her family moved multiple times during the war. Shortly before the Communist takeover of China in 1949, she and her family left their ancestral home and moved to Taipei, Taiwan. Upon graduating from high school there, she applied for and was awarded a scholarship to study abroad at Colegio Santa Isabel, a Catholic school in Madrid, Spain. With the support of her family, she made the long journey to Spain by ship in 1956. She completed her studies there in 1958.

From Spain, Esther traveled to New York City. While studying and working in New York, she met Peter Kuo, a graduate student at Colombia University, through the local Chinese-American association. They were married in New York City on May 5, 1962.

After their marriage, Peter and Esther moved to Lodi, New Jersey and their daughter Anna Kuo was born in 1963. They then moved to Chester, Pennsylvania, and their son Nelson Kuo was born in 1964. In 1967, the family moved to Huntington, Connecticut, and their last child, son Lawrence Kuo, was born in 1968.

Facing the challenges of maintaining a home and raising three small children, Esther nonetheless continued seeking further education. In 1973, she completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at Sacred Heart University in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1974, Esther also completed her Master of Science degree in Sociology at Southern Connecticut State College in New Haven, Connecticut.

Shortly after graduating, Esther found employment at Sterling Library at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. While working there, she was tapped by a professor from Yale’s East Asian Languages and Literatures Department who was impressed by her Chinese and English language skills. She was invited to apply for a position teaching Chinese as a Lecturer. She was hired in 1976 to teach beginning Mandarin Chinese. Esther soon found success and fellowship in this position. She loved teaching her students and she was well loved by them. Esther taught Chinese at Yale for 26 years, retiring as a Senior Lecturer in 2002. She also taught Chinese to private students as a tutor for Berlitz School of Languages.

While they were both working, Esther and Peter successfully raised their three children. In 1978, the family moved to Orange, Connecticut, where all three children graduated from high school and then went on to complete college and graduate school degrees. As time passed, Esther especially loved taking on her role as a grandmother to six grandchildren: Alayna Feng, Kayla Feng and Tyler Feng, the children of Anna and son-in-law Terry Feng; and Ethan Kuo, Ilea Kuo and Garrett Kuo, the children of Nelson and daughter-in-law Rebecca Melland-Kuo. In 2004, Peter and Esther moved from their home in Woodbridge, Connecticut to Apex, North Carolina in order to live closer to their grandchildren. Once there, Esther played a vital family role, sharing in the upbringing of grandchildren Ethan, Ilea and Garrett.

During her retirement years, Esther also devoted more time to her hobbies. She enjoyed gardening, and especially loved tending to her peony flowers, which flourished at her home in Woodbridge, Connecticut, but were not suited to the climate of North Carolina. Her attention turned to learning to tend goldfish, and she enjoyed selecting and caring for them. She also devoted more time to traveling the world. She made multiple trips with her husband, children, relatives and old friends to many places including Europe, China, Taiwan, Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean, South America and Canada.

As Esther neared the end of her life, she frequently said that she felt that she had lived a full life and had no regrets. Esther truly lived her life courageously, with steadfast kindness, love and devotion. She is dearly missed by all who knew her. Esther is survived by her husband, three children, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, six grandchildren, and brother.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., on Saturday, January 20, 2024 at Apex Funeral Home, 550 W Williams Street, Apex, NC. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service (1-2 pm). Interment will follow at Holly Springs Cemetery.

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