Yumei Lu Fang

Yu-Mei was a dynamic wife and mother who embraced life with enthusiasm and excitement. From her earliest years as the second oldest of seven children, family was the center of our mother’s world. Growing up, she was often the center of attention in family gatherings, and her conversation was enjoyed by people of all ages.

Later, with her own family, mom was never happier than when she was surrounded by her husband and children. For her grandchildren, whom she adored, mom happily took their requests for their favorite meals, letting them concoct "morning juice," and pretending to look the other way when they raided the pantry for treats.

A lifelong diarist, Yu-Mei in 1982 published a memoir of her college years. The book, 女大學生的日記 (Nu Da Xue sheng de Reji; Diary of a Female College Student), recounts her time as a young woman at National Taiwan Normal University, where Yu-Mei studied to become a teacher. The vividly written memoir describes her journey from rural Gangshan, in southern Taiwan, to the nation’s capital, Taipei. There the inexperienced daughter of a provincial policeman got her first perm, struggled to understand the fast-paced college English class, and was flustered by the attentions of several young men.

Even in her declining years, mom always recorded her daily or weekly memories on her family and life. Sometimes it might be a sentence or a few words on a monthly calendar, but it shows how she cherished the moments and people of her life.

As an immigrant Yu-Mei built a fulfilling life abroad, long before digital communication made it easier. To keep in touch with her family in Taiwan she wrote closely written letters on thin blue international mailers. Many summers in the 1970s and 1980s she braved the long trans-Pacific plane flight with her three children, with only two movies to entertain them.

Yu-Mei and her husband, Jeffrey Ming-Shan Fang, shared a love for Taiwanese soap operas and were active members of the Taiwanese community, throughout their moves to Washington State, Oregon, Illinois, and northern Virginia. Teased by their children for their immigrant frugality, Yu-Mei and Jeffrey saved everything, but Yu-Mei triumphed whenever some old-fashioned article of clothing they had kept for decades became vintage and back in style.

In addition to Jeffrey, Yu-Mei is survived by their son Eric Fang and his wife, Emma Sangalang; daughter Karen Wong and son-in-law Andrew Wong; son Gary Fang and his wife Christina McLaughlin Fang. Yu-Mei was a beloved grandmother to Benjamin and Elliot Wong, Henry, Emily, and Sydney Fang.

Yu-Mei also leaves behind her siblings Yu-Ying Wu (Bor-chern Wu), Jieh-Bin Lu, Chin-hsiung Lu (Li-Ying Lee), Kuo-Chang Lu (Chin-Shiu Chen), and MeiYun Lu Hshieh (Paul Hshieh), her brother-in-law Nan-Bor Kuo, a dozen nieces and nephews and sixteen grandnieces and grandnephews.

Yu-Mei was preceded in death by her parents, Tu Lu and Bing Chen, whose long lives and large, close-knit family she emulated. In passing Yu-Mei rejoins her sister, Mei-Huei Lu, whom she lost too soon.

In her free time, Yu-Mei adored travel. With her husband or select family or friends, they traveled to various places in the U.S. and in Asia. She particularly enjoyed reunion trips with Jeff’s high school and college classmates, both in the United States, Taiwan, and abroad. Some of their favorite destinations and memories were Spain, where they followed in the footsteps of Don Quijote; Russia; a train trip in Norway; and two different South American tours. On their Brazil trip they marveled at Iguazu Falls. On another trip, encompassing Argentina, the Falkland Islands, Antarctica, and Ushuaia, their group of Chinese-speaking world travelers chuckled at how that city’s name sounds, in Chinese, like “don’t brush your teeth!”

Often after their journeys, passages from mom’s travel log would be published in the memory book commemorating the group’s trip.

In retirement, our parents returned annually to Taiwan, not only to visit family but also proudly participating in the national election. In Tainan on New Year’s Day, 2020, a large banquet was held to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary. The event was the culmination of an extended holiday trip to Taiwan, as our parents were thrilled to watch as their five grandchildren discovered the country of their birth.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Taiwanese Youth Arts Foundation (TYAF). Please make checks payable to: TYAF, P.O. Box 341384, Bethesda MD, 20827.

A private inurnment ceremony was held at National Memorial Park and Funeral Home, Alexandria, Virginia, on February 2. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Yu-Mei Lu Fang touched the lives of many with her love, hospitality, and unwavering dedication to her family. She will be deeply missed and forever remembered by all who knew her. 南無阿彌陀佛（Namo Amitabha; nan wu a mi tuo fo); We entrust ourselves to the Buddha of eternal life and limitless life.