Angeline Chang Barnes

Angeline was born in Shanghai, China, on September 6, 1946, in a multigenerational home near the French Bund. She entered the world just after World War II, at a time when Shanghai was in upheaval following war and Japanese occupation. Her parents and toddler sister, Theresa, had recently moved from Nanjing to escape the war.

Angeline’s mother, Rose Yuen, came from a merchant family in Zhongshan, north of Macau. Through a connection with Maryknoll Catholic missionaries, Rose traveled alone to Scranton, Pennsylvania, at thirteen and lived there until she returned to China in 1935. Angeline’s father, Pei Yang, came from a large and well-connected Shanghai family and attended a foreign Methodist school. Pei Yang and Rose met when he was a consulate officer for the British in Chungking and she was seeking a passport to leave the country. They met again in Calcutta, India, where Pei Yang was Head Conducting Officer in the British Ministry of Economic Warfare. They married there in 1943.

In 1944, while loyal to the British government during the war, Pei Yang returned to Chungking and joined the Nationalist government. His work required frequent travel around China, leaving Rose to raise Theresa and Angeline, affectionately called “Be” and “Bo.” As relatives debated whether to remain in Shanghai or leave through Hong Kong, the family was able to move to Ankara, Turkey, where Pei Yang served as a Foreign Diplomat for the Chinese Embassy. There, the family was finally safe and together. Angeline’s earliest memories included floating a large watermelon shell as a boat down the river.

In October 1949, following the 1943 repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act and with the help of the Sweeney family in Scranton, the Chang family immigrated to the United States. Pei Yang lived apart from his family for seven years in New York while studying for his PhD in Economics and co-owning Lingnan restaurant. Rose, Angeline, and Theresa lived with the Sweeney family in Scranton, where Angeline’s sisters Rosemary and Christine were born.

In 1958, Rose and her four daughters joined Pei Yang in New York City. Angeline was a diligent student attending the Academy of the Sacred Heart of Mary, became a gifted piano player and accompanist, and developed her talents in sewing and knitting. In 1967, the family bought their first house in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.

A proud New Yorker, Angeline graduated from Hunter College in 1967 with a BS in Chemistry with high honors and received the prestigious Dr. Jonas Salk Award. She went on to Case Western Reserve Medical School on a full academic scholarship, receiving her MD in 1973. She recalled that there were only two other women in her class.

She completed her residency in Anesthesiology at UCLA Medical Center and was licensed to practice anesthesiology from 1974 to 2020, spending most of her career at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Long Beach, California. She was beloved by colleagues and deeply committed to patient care, often arriving hours early to answer questions from patients, families, and surgical staff. She was well known for her handmade knitted Christmas stockings for colleagues to celebrate weddings and births.

From 1973 to 2020, Angeline lived in San Pedro, California, in a beautiful home with expansive windows overlooking the tidepools and Catalina Island. In 1982, she gave birth to Alice Rose, writing in her journal that it was her “happiest day.” She was a devoted mother who worked to give Alice the best childhood possible. They spent weekends at local parks and later at their cabin in Wrightwood, enjoying the lake in summer and skiing in winter. Angeline learned to snowboard for her 50th birthday, and for her 60th, she and Alice ran the Rome, Italy, marathon. Over her life, she ran 12 marathons, including New York and Los Angeles.

Angeline loved travel, experiencing different cultures, people, food, and landscapes. In 1988, she and Alice joined her parents and most of her sisters and their families for a month in Beijing and Shanghai—the family’s first return to China since leaving in 1947. During that trip and later visits, extended family in China expressed gratitude for the support Pei Yang and Rose had provided during years of separation and uncertainty. Angeline often spoke with immense gratitude about her parents’ sacrifices and courage in keeping their family safe.

Angeline was a treasured sister and aunt. Her sisters, nieces, nephews, and grandniece remember beach trips along the California coast, Disneyland, summer camp on Catalina Island, horseback riding in Wrightwood, and trips to Peru. In recent years, she was especially delighted to visit her grandniece Zoe during her study abroad and share meals and gatherings during college breaks. Her nieces and nephews valued her letter writing, generosity, and bravery. She loved receiving pictures and stories about younger grand nieces and nephews.

From 2001 to 2026, Angeline participated in 27 medical mission trips to Peru and one to Cambodia. With the Eagle Condor group, she participated in 14 missions and 109 spine surgeries; with Angels of Charity and Music, she participated in 13 missions providing pediatric cleft palate surgeries. She eagerly invited family to join her, introducing each person to Peruvian and Incan culture. She treasured her longtime traveling companions, sharing hard work during the day and local food and friendship afterward.

Angeline was a resident of Arlington, VA since 2015 moving to the East Coast to support her daughter’s family. As the grandchildren grew, they became incredibly close. Angeline attended almost all of their many soccer games and all of their martial arts ceremonies. She also focused on spending individual time with each, in recent years out to lunch for sushi with Christopher and sewing and cooking lessons with Rose. She found great joy and peace in her expansive garden with apple and persimmon trees, as well as the most delicious tomato, bean and basil plants. Angeline and Rose scattered wildflower seeds throughout. Christopher pruned her trees with her favorite lopping shears. As a doting grandmother, she also loved to take them shopping. Her sister often remarked that her grandchildren were her greatest joy.

Teaching her grandchildren about volunteerism and standing up for causes that promoted dignity and equality, she was a consistent volunteer at the Barcroft Mobile Market, was a key volunteer with the Trans Quilt with Equality Arlington, showed up with VOICE for affordable housing and after school programs, and volunteered and supported projects across Arlington and Los Angeles to support immigrants, seniors and children.

While she came to Arlington for her family, she found professional purpose and friendships from her medical volunteer work. As soon as the first COVID vaccines became available, she joined the COVID response team with the Arlington County Medical Response Team (MRT) serving in the vaccination clinic. For her work in the clinic along with making thousands of homemade masks, she received a special volunteer recognition with Arlington County. She then became a “MVP” volunteer with “Until Help Arrives,” a program providing training and resources to help Arlington citizens emergency first aid. No different from her practice as an anesthesiologist, she strived to make sure every detail was considered. She greatly enjoyed her friendship with her fellow volunteers including her medical team that shared monthly lunches at restaurants and homes throughout Arlington. Angeline was proud to share her homegrown tomatoes and made from scratch pesto, bone broth, and flan.

Angeline was a highly independent and hard working woman. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2025 and after surgery and some chemotherapy, the cancer was in remission. In the spring of 2026, she started feeling incredibly tired, but wanted to keep living her life on her own terms, including visiting her family in California in May and going to Peru with her beloved friends for what would be her last medical mission trip. She returned early from her trip on September 10. Her last non-hospital related activity was attending an end of season dog-swim at Arlington Forest Pool. Her granddog, Scout, bound up to her greeting her first before the whole family.

Angeline was diagnosed with high risk Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with many chromosomal abnormalities on September 16. The progression of her sickness was shocking as she was hospitalized just nine days later. She was able to say in person goodbyes and individual goodbyes on the phone to her family in California. She died thirty minutes after saying goodbye to her treasured grandchildren. At the time of death, she was with her family. She was 80 years old.

She is survived by her daughter Alice Rose Tewell, son-in-law Adam Wendell Tewell, grandchildren Christopher Chang and Rose Victoria Tewell, dear friend Dan Leighton, sisters Theresa Kuo, Rosemary Chang, Christine Chang Weeks (Gary), niece Mimi Rose Kuo (Willard Hong), nephew Evans Kuo (Hope), nephew Jeremy Kuo (Jennifer Vittori), niece Madeline Rose Chang (Alan), nephew Alec John Weeks (Nicole Elizabeth Na) and grand niece Zoe Hong, grand nephew Enzo Vittori-Kuo, grand niece Zelda Vittori-Kuo, grand niece Robin Na-Weeks, and sisters-in-law Peggy Budd (Michael Quarry) and Nancy Kreider. She is predeceased by her parents Pei Yang Chang and Rose Yuen Chang, her brother-in-law Ta-hsia Kuo, her brother-in-law Ted Buttner, sister-in-law Alice Spruance, and mother-in-law Alice Otto Barnes.

Angeline’s family will host two memorial services to celebrate Angeline’s life. A memorial service will be at Clarendon Presbyterian Church on December 13, 2026 at one o’clock pm. A reception will follow. Angeline was an active member of both Clarendon Presbyterian Church and St Peter’s by the Sea Presbyterian Church where she served as a Deacon, chef of delicious food for those in need of care and community, and teacher of origami and reading to children at summer camp. Another memorial service in early 2027 will be in California with more details forthcoming. All are welcome to join to celebrate Angeline’s life.

Angeline supported many charitable and advocacy organizations over her lifetime including: the Arlington Free Clinic, Arlington Food Assistance Center, VOICE (Virginians Organized in Interfaith Community Engagement), the Barcroft Elementary School and Kenmore Middle School PTAs, Camp Sarraka 1st Road South scholarships, Equality Arlington, Hunter College, Clarendon Presbyterian Church, St. Peter’s by the Sea Presbyterian Church, Engle Condor, and the Angels of Charity and Music. In lieu of flowers, she would encourage you to support organizations and individuals that support your community.