Dr. Maxwell C. Cheung

Max was born in Hong Kong on Jan 25, 1941, the son of George Yuen Long Cheung and Mo Ching Ng. He was the youngest of five siblings - Jane, Lawrence, Chester, Bob, Max. When his father was no longer able to work due to health constraints, Jane shouldered the burden of raising the family and this allowed Max to finish his education at Hong Kong’s Pui Ching High School.

Max received a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the prestigious Cheng Kung University in Taiwan in 1964. He completed his graduate studies at The California Institute of Technology, in the Department of Aeronautics. In 1965, he earned a Master’s Degree and a Ph.D. in 1969. Max was grateful to his brother Chester for helping to finance his college education and to his brother Bob for his guidance and helping him adjust to life in a new country.

After a few years as a senior engineer at an offshore drilling company in Los Angeles, Max ventured out on his own. In 1972, he founded an engineering consulting company called MCA Engineers, based in Costa Mesa, California. At that time, clients included many major oil companies. MCA’s specialty was helping to design giant oil and LNG tankers and preventing oil leakage by optimizing structural repair. MCA also developed many custom software and hardware solutions that have significantly increased the service life of oil tankers and other marine structures. Many of these solutions are still actively being used today.

In the late 1990’s, MCA won a large (US military) contract to carry out facilities maintenance at the Vandenberg Air Force Base. As a result, the company grew to over 200 employees. Max sold the business and retired in 2003.

In the summer of 2000, Max suffered a major heart attack while on a cruise through the Baltic Sea but was successfully treated after being airlifted to a hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. Despite Max’s health issues worsening over the ensuing years, he was still able to travel and immerse himself in learning new things like sculpture, watercolor painting and Mediterranean cooking. He was always curious and willing to patiently sit down and teach. People were drawn to Max because he was a natural leader and his enthusiasm was infectious.

Tragically, on January 22, 2003, Ryan passed away unexpectedly in Hong Kong during an after-work basketball practice. Following such great sadness came great joy with the births of two grandsons. Max had enjoyed teaching his children Roselyn and Ryan his favorite hobbies such as photography, skiing and scuba diving and now there was a new generation to nurture and share his love of science and serving others.

Max passed away on February 16, 2023 after a prolonged illness. He is survived by his loving wife of 50 years Rose Kuang May Cheung, daughter Roselyn Schmeltzer from Iowa, Son-in-law Kurt Schmeltzer, grandsons Michael and Maxwell Schmeltzer, two brothers Chester Cheung from Washington, Bob Cheung from Illinois and brother-in-law Wo-Hip Ma from British Columbia, Canada.

A private memorial service will be held at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona Del Mar, CA. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the South Coast Chinese Cultural Association (https://www.sccca.org/) in Memory of Max at 9 Truman, Irvine, CA 92620.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.pacificviewcalifornia.com for the Cheung family.