Joseph Chung Shin Shi

On Dec 6th, 2024 the Shi family said goodbye to a loving father, Joseph Chung-Shin Shi, at the age of 85. He lived an extraordinary life and was well known for his engineering accomplishments, his savvy business prowess, and his boisterous laugh. Joseph Chung-Shin Shi was born in 1939 to working-class Taiwanese parents. Known as an extremely hard-working man, Joe was a self-admitted “average” kid whom he claimed was no smarter than his peers - he just had a stronger work ethic.

In his twenties, he made the fearless decision to leave home by himself to be the first (and only) member of his family to immigrate to the United States to pursue a higher education. Upon arriving, Joseph began his dreamer journey in Butte, Montana attending school for mining engineering, and eventually made it all the way to study at Stanford University where he completed his PhD. While visiting NY after graduation he met his future wife, June Chin-Chu Liu, at an Asian American social function in New Jersey. They were married on Dec 8, 1973.

Joe and June then moved to the small town of Sandersville, GA where he begin his career at Thiele Kaolin as a research engineer in the mining and processing of kaolin (white clay). In his over 35-year tenure at Thiele, he pioneered the invention of many processes for the purification of kaolin and was awarded 13 Patents before he retired - many processes which are still being used today throughout the industry.

In addition to working full-time as a research engineer, Joe also found the time to cultivate an enormous garden, sell produce at markets, dabble in real estate (buying older motels and houses and renovating them for re-sale and rental), partner in the opening of a “Dipper Dan” ice cream shop at the Regency Mall in Augusta, GA, and launch the very first video rental store in Augusta – Video To Go. He did all of this while also raising two children, Mindrey and Alexander Shi.

A few of his favorite things included the movie The Sound of Music, listening to classical music, singing, gardening, cheesecake, a glass of wine, and of course – working hard. He was also very involved in the Augusta Asian community, practicing Tai Chi every Sunday and gathering and volunteering with his CSRA Chinese Association friends for community events, chorus, investing, and of course – coffee discussions at McDonalds.

If you ever wanted to know what pure determination looks like, you would not find a better example than Joe - a man who started from humble beginnings and ended with many successful endeavors. He wasn’t the richest man (and he would tell you to this day he was still poor), but he had riches beyond belief with a life well lived.

A Memorial of Life service will be held on December 19, 2024 at 9:00am, 4255 Columbia Road Martinez, GA 30907. For those unable to attend the service in person please join the following link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86070245128?pwd=a8ktddT2PlOSbZ9rRU1FASGF141vF6.1

He will be greatly missed by all.