Chen Hsiang Tsao

Dr. Chen Tsao or C.H. as most people called him was a respected physicist who worked for the US Naval Research Lab and emigrated from China over 60 years ago to make a life in this country. He met his wife, Florence, shortly after and trekked from Seattle, Washington, where he received his doctorate in physics, to Chicago, Illinois, and finally to Washington D.C. in the mid 1960s where his family settled with two young sons, Clinton and Daniel.

He was always meticulous in how he approached problem solving whether it was a simple child’s homework assignment to working at his job exploring astral phenomenon especially cosmic rays and even worked on scientific payloads that were sent on space shuttle missions. He was curious about many things and loved nature and plants even if they came from a stray cutting.

He always took care of our family, and we were never ever wanting. He could be firm and have a temper, but he was always there to support you whether it was at a school Christmas choral performance or awards ceremony for his sons. He was proud of two sons who could stand on their own and wanted them to just be happy yet strong.

As a family, we went to Ocean City several times, visited New York to see relatives, went to Cape Kennedy (at the time) to watch the launch of Skylab and visit a newly opened Disneyworld. We did all the family trips to locations like Mount Vernon, Shenandoah Valley, Kings Dominion, the National Zoo, and the Washington landmarks especially the Smithsonian Museums.

Many a night was spent watching TV together and everything from The Untouchables, The Dean Martin Show, The Man from UNCLE, The Carol Burnett Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show were staples as a child. But the late night monologues of Johnny Carson were a ritual at home. Dad took his sons to see a James Bond double bill at one of the last movie palaces in D.C. Some movies we saw together as a family were early blockbusters like The Sound of Music and 2001: A Space Odyssey at a special premiere at the Uptown Theater, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon which was based on graphic Chinese novels he would regularly read!

Dad took the family to baseball games of the old Washington Senators and then Baltimore Orioles. We were a Washington Redskin household starting with George Allen and through the glory years of Joe Gibbs. We did things like kite flying on the D.C. Mall with his specially designed kite. We saw the 4th of July fireworks on the mall or we would celebrate in the backyard with sparklers and local fireworks purchased at the D.C. line. We did Halloween trick or treats in ever changing costumes, the turkey highlighted Thanksgiving meals, and Christmas was shopping for a real tree and decorating it with glitter, school made ornaments, and those bubbly lamps.

This was a man who travelled across Europe in his youth, and who, years after he quit smoking, began to rebuild his health by walking to parks to interact with the children and shoot basketball with the young adults. This was the same man who learned to play classical piano particularly Chopin which was his favorite love. Even after retirement, he was on the adjunct faculty at Roanoke College.

There are so many family memories and even as he knew he would leave us, he did things with dignity and strength. Dad made his mark in this world especially in how he touched others. He was kind and compassionate, and generously devoted to family and friends. He cared about and regularly asked about the welfare of others. His loyalty was unquestioned. He was philosophical about life and had an inquisitive, logical mind. People responded to C.H. in kind with great fondness and caring, and that is the measure of the man. We all miss him as a father, husband, friend, and remarkable human being.