Jiama Cao

Jiama Cao, 38, passed away peacefully on Friday, December 27, 2019 surrounded by family and friends in Towson, Maryland. She was a beloved sister to Beta Cao, fiancé to Kevin Harkins and thoughtful friend to many who knew her.

Jiama was born November 10, 1981 in Suzhou, China to Bangjie Wang and Zongjian Cao. She immigrated from China to the United States when she was young and graduated from Long Reach High School in Columbia, Maryland. She continued her education at the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s of science degree in Microbiology. She attended Texas A&M University and graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation, Dr. Cao preformed her residency at the Animal Emergency Referral Center in Northbrook, Illinois. She moved to New Jersey where she was an emergency veterinarian at Red Bank Animal Hospital for 2 years. She moved back to her home state of Maryland to where she worked at the PET- ER in Towson as a critical care and emergency veterinarian for the last 5 years.

Jiama’s life would have seem too short to many but she brought so much joy and happiness to everyone she met. Her childhood dream to become a veterinarian turned into a lifelong career. All her colleagues and friends respected and admired her passion and drive as a veterinarian. She loved her dog Blossom, and her two cats named Roxie and Lisa. In her free time, she enjoyed traveling, hiking, and especially gardening where she enjoyed tending to the many plants she grew. She was an avid foodie who tried gourmet food from American to Vietnamese and everything in between. She also enjoyed archery, horse-back riding, playing the violin and was an amateur artist. Jiama’s beautiful smile and selfless dedication to the needs of her friends, family and pets first will be sorely missed.

Jiama is survived by her twin brother, Beta Cao and half-sister, Xiaoyan Li.

A celebration of Jiama’s life will be held on Friday, January 24, 2020 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory at 3100 Swann Dr. Baltimore, Maryland 21217.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in Jiama’s name to Stand Up To Cancer, P.O. Box 843721, Los Angeles, CA 90084-3721 at https://standuptocancer.org/