Fanny Woo

Fanny Shiao Yu Woo, beloved wife, mother, educator, and friend, passed away peacefully at home on November 15th, 2020. Fanny was born on November 8th, 1943 in Fuzhou, China. As a young child, her family escaped to Taiwan during the Communist Revolution. There, she met her future husband of over 50 years, George, at church while they were both in junior high school. After college, they married and started a family. In 1978, Fanny and George moved their young family to the United States in search of a better life. They moved often due to George’s employment in the oil industry, settling throughout the years in New Mexico, Texas, Beijing, and West Virginia, before finally retiring to Williamsburg, Virginia. Throughout each stage of her journey, Fanny lovingly supported her husband and children. After each move she quickly made sure they found a local church as well as the public library. She was a talented seamstress and clothing designer, having created evening gowns for several Ms. New Mexico and Ms. Texas pageant contestants and winners. When her children started college, Fanny went back to school as well. She earned her PhD in Chemistry from Texas Christian University and later went on to teach high school science and college Chemistry. Her life was a living example of her favorite Bible verse, Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Fanny is survived by her devoted husband George; brother, Shiao Chi Cheng; sister, Tai Sheng Hsu; sons, Rayne (Winnie Yo) and Rhett (Deborah); grandchildren, Isaiah and Sonya; nephew, Ethan Cheng; nieces, Ya Ping (Chung Ming) Chien, Ju Chien (Randy) Berry, Ju-Pei (John) Hannon and Ju-Fen (Arvind) Krishnamurthy; and countless dear friends. Online condolences for the family may be shared at www.nelsenwilliamsburg.com.