Ruomei Yan

Ruomei Yan was born in Hangzhou, China on November 30th, 1946. She went home to be with the Lord on Jan 6th, 2025 at transitions life care due to complications from bile duct cancer. She will be remembered for her kindness, her brilliant smiles, and her loving sacrifice to her family.

In 1971 Ruomei and Tianji got married. In 1974 they had a daughter Kaili. Ruomei graduated from Qianjiang mechanical school of trades and worked as a tracer clerk most of her life.

She devoted her entire life serving her family. She was the main caretaker of her younger sisters in her teenage years. When she met her husband Tianji, she cared for his bedridden mother for an entire year before she passed away. Then she cared for her husband and daughter by keeping the house spotlessly clean and cooking delicious home-made meals. She gave everything she had to her family holding nothing back.

In 2009, Ruomei & Tianji moved to Cary to be with their daughter Kaili. She enjoyed her retirement by spending time with her family and traveling around the world with her husband Tianji, together they visited more than 30 countries, and most of the national parks in the United States. It was during this time, she became a Christian and joined Raleigh Chinese Christian Church.

In 2021 Ruomei was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and a pancreatic cyst. In 2022, the doctor suspected the cyst turned into cancer. She was offered the Whipple surgery with a low success rate. She declined the surgery and decided she would live the rest of her life however long the Lord gives her without any drastic treatments. In 2023, she was among the first to start treatment with a newly approved drug for Alzheimer’s Leqembi, this drug worked wonders, it not only stopped all progression but also reversed certain symptoms, because of that she enjoyed an improved quality of life until her death. In 2024, her cancer progressed, two stents were put in one in May, and another in Aug to relieve the symptoms. During the last four years, she showed incredible strength and resilience, despite the progression of diseases, she always kept an uplifting spirit and smiled a lot all the way until the last day of her life. As she went peacefully with a smile to be with the Father, she left us a sweet memory of joy.

She was preceded in death by her parents Zhenghua Yan & Zhuomin Qian.

She is survived by her husband of 53 years Tianji Wang, her daughter Kaili Sawyer (and husband Alan), and granddaughter Grace Sawyer, and her brother Jianzhong Yan, and sisters Peilin Yan and Peiqiu Yan.

Her body was laid to rest at Raleigh Memorial Park in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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