K.C. Wen, our dearest father, passed away peacefully on Lunar Calendar August 16th, 2019 at his eldest daughter’s home in Long Beach, California at the age 97. He was surrounded by all his loving family members at his final passing. His wife of 70 plus years, Yu Yun Wen, passed away earlier this year.
Dad lived his life full and excelled in all roles he played in life.
Dad was born to a patriotic family in Liling Hunan, China amidst a very turbulent time. The family and the county were the home in breeding many patriots in the time of revolutions against Qing Dynasty (1911) and subsequently in the war against Japanese invasion (1937 to 1945).
The sense of patriotism and duty lasted him all his life and had been manifested in various roles.
As a young man, Dad would spend his youth alternating between studies and war efforts resulted from the war against the Japanese.
Dad entered his chemical engineering program at Zhejiang University (ranked 3rd in China, with school motto of "seeking truth and innovation" (that he abided by all his life)), only to quit in the middle of schooling voluntarily to be enlisted as a Chinese army translator in the China Burma India theater between 1944 and 1945 fighting alongside with the American forces. After the war, Dad resumed studies at Zhejiang University and received his Chemical Engineering B.S. in 1947.
After his graduation, Dad went to Taiwan, in a new venture of his life to a foreign island. It was there he met and courted Mom after the first sight of Mom, and the courtship turned out to be a 70 year plus marriage after 1948.
In his prime years after 1950's, while there was less of the threat of war, there required of him the effort to build his new home (Taiwan, ROC) into a modern economy and society.
As a professional engineer, Dad built a proud career in the field of industrial explosives for 22 years with Atlas Taiwan Corporation, Taiwan, ROC. The company was a commercial explosives manufacturer originally established in 1963 as a joint venture, first between Atlas Chemical Industries Inc., Wilmington, Delaware and Kaohsiung Ammonium Sulfate Co. (“KASC”), then in 1974 it became a joint venture between Imperial Chemical Industries (“ICI”, a British chemical company) and KASC. Dad worked his way up from holding positions of Engineer, Superintendent, Assistant Plant Manager to Plant Manager and retired as Assistant General Manager.
In those years, Dad was actively involved with SATCA (Sino - American Technical Cooperation Association), which was under the support of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, Executive Yuan (the Taiwan, cabinet) for talents nurturing and promotion of advanced technology across all industries. SATCA members were credited as playing an important part in launching all major industrial projects in Taiwan of 60's and 70's. Dad held directorship in SATAC for over ten years and were chief directorship for two years at SATCA Kaohsiung Branch. Some of the SATCA’s published periodicals are currently archived in major U.S. university libraries.
For all his life, Dad led a disciplined lifestyle, he maintained healthy diet, was neither smoker nor drinker. He kept a routine of daily jogging or brisk walking of 5 kilometers till the late years. He was also a lifetime tennis enthusiast.
For the last part of his life, Dad and Mom established their San Diego residency for 25 years since 1986. From 2011, they took a long stay with their eldest daughter Gallena and her husband Terry in Long Beach.
Among the many roles he excelled, for us, he excelled the best as the loving father and the protector of our family, he strived to prepare the best and secured environment for us. He will always be remembered by us, of his wisdom, his inquisitive and gregarious nature. His love for all of us will be forever engraved in our memories.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.9.5