James Chang Ming Kao

James Chang Ming Kao lived to the remarkable age of 100 before passing away peacefully at home on July 5th, 2026. Born in February 1926 in Shandong, China, he endured a difficult childhood shaped by the wars and conflicts of that era. After escaping to Taiwan, he was finally able to build a more settled life. There, he married Anne Kao and together they raised two children, Tom and Jennifer. In 1973, he made the bold and strategic decision to move his family to the United States. Over time, his family grew to include grandchildren and three great-grandchildren from Marilyn and Jeffery: Allora, Emilia, and Brooklyn.

James was both an educator and an entrepreneur. Throughout his career, he served as a teacher, principal, professor, and dean of students, working in schools that ranged from elementary schools to universities. At the same time, he never stopped imagining new possibilities and pursuing creative, sometimes unconventional, business ideas.

For example, in partnership with his brother-in-law, Mr. Chao, he took over the Parkside Theater in San Francisco and transformed it into one of the city’s largest nursery schools, while still showing movies at night. He also came close to realizing an ambitious plan to purchase a used cruise ship and dock it along the Huangpu River in Shanghai to help address the hotel shortage there. On a smaller scale, he loved moving from city to city so he could remodel and improve homes for resale. His final project was buying two neighboring residential homes in San Lorenzo, tearing them down, and building a nine-unit apartment complex in their place.

Our dad will be deeply missed by all of us—not only for his presence, wisdom, and love, but also for the endless stream of bold and “crazy” ideas that made life with him so memorable. His courage, creativity, and devotion to family will continue to inspire us, and his legacy will live on through the generations he helped build.