Our precious father and grandfather, Haozhong Xu, 84 passed away peacefully surrounded by family on June 23rd, 2020 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was born on December 19th, 1935 in the city of YiXing, JiangSu province in China to Mr. HongXi Xu and Mrs. YuLiang Qian.
Education and Career
Haozhong graduated from a prestigious high school with honors in China in 1956 and attended Harbin Military Academy of Engineering. There he received a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1962. After graduation, he moved to QingDao and started working for the Navy where he provided technical aviation services to the military until 1969. During this time, his group was assigned to work in the rural areas of China, where he lived and worked very hard with the local farmers and helped them improve their difficult lives. His life in this environment was very tough and he eventually developed liver disease and then shortly thereafter retired from the military.
After retiring in 1969, he went to Nanjing to be with his wife and joined the JiangSu wireless communication company for about 10 years. He led the production of theater sound systems and hardware development for accurate weather reporting used by the air force. He also participated in the early research and development of circuit boards.
Because of his talent and special knowledge of the technical computer field, he was recruited by Nanjing Forestry University in 1979 to create and establish all of the computer systems that would be used by the professors and students in the university. From hiring people, to leading a large team to France to train and purchase the new computer system, to building the actual mainframe computers, he was a crucial driving force in the implementation of all the computer systems on campus. Afterwards, he stayed with the university to direct the department personnel in the maintenance of all the systems he helped build. During this time, he also helped his wife edit her numerous research papers that were eventually published as books and science periodicals. He retired at an early age in late 1994 in order to visit his family in the America.
Family and Retirement
He met and fell in love with Xijuan Lu in high school while they were both serving on the student council. After graduating, they went to different colleges, but maintained their long-distance relationship through exchanging many love letters to each other. They finally got married on January 29th, 1965 in Nanjing and later, welcomed their only child, a daughter, Hong Xu into the world in Qingdao. In 1994 after retiring, he came to America to visit his daughter and stayed for the birth of his granddaughter, Amy and then went back to China a few years later. He again returned to America in 2002 to enjoy his retirement alongside his wife, daughter and granddaughter.
In America, he enjoyed many aspects of his retirement. He loved gardening, cooking a variety of foods for his family and friends. He enjoyed going on cruises and road trips with his family. He liked learning new things such as the English language, photography, cell phones and gardening techniques. He was always fascinated by new technologies and enjoyed learning how to use them. He even tried out virtual reality!
He also participated in the activities with the Evergreen Club and his church. In his church, he came to know and follow God’s teachings which were exemplified in his life.
Legacy
His wife developed Parkinson’s disease in the latter years of their lives and he selflessly dedicated those years to taking good care of her. He was diagnosed with late stage bile duct cancer in September 2019. He stayed strong during his battle with this aggressive cancer. Despite his diagnosis, he maintained his positive outlook on life and lived every day to the fullest. He was delighted to attend his granddaughter’s wedding in June and held on for Father’s Day before passing peacefully in his sleep.
He had a big heart and was such a loving, caring and devoted husband, parent and grandparent. He loved his family and played a major role in the raising of his granddaughter. He always made the best of every situation. He put others first and was considerate and generous. He truly was a gentleman and a role model for generations to come. He is loved by his family and his many friends. His big smile, positive attitude, and passion for life will be forever remembered.
He is survived by his wife Xijuan Lu, his daughter, Hong Xu Simpson and her husband Al Ball, his granddaughter Amy Xu Zhang and her husband Sawyer Harris, and in China by two younger brothers and many relatives. He is preceded in death by his parents and his older brother.
In lieu of flowers, we are accepting donations for two funds related to his journey with cancer, Duke Cancer Institute and the Cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) Foundation. If you would like to donate, you may do so on this page:
A funeral service will be held on Sunday, June 28, 2020 at 2pm at Brown- Wynne Funeral Home. The family will receive friends following the service.
Arrangements by Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's Street, Raleigh,.
Please bring a mask as we will be following protocol for ensuring everyone's safety from COVID-19. If you are having symptoms, please do not come. The service will also be streamed live on Brown-Wynne's facebook page.
Please also see the following link for his wife Mrs. Xijuan Lu's obituary:
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/raleigh-nc/xijuan-lu-9256624
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