Mary Chu Yao

Mary Chu Yao (姚曲如琦), age 87, passed away in the arms of her beloved daughter on January 13, 2021, in Maryland. She is off to her next great adventure. She was born in 1933 in Henan, to Ri Ting Chu and Tsan Bing Chu.

The daughter of a diplomat with the British Consulate, she spent her childhood in Kashgar, China. Her high school years were at Woodstock boarding school in Mussoorie, India.

From Woodstock, Mary went on to attend Whittier College in California, where her much loved “Mom and Dad Owens” became her American parents.

In the summer of 1957, Mary took a summer job at Yosemite National Park on a whim, while most of her friends chose Yellowstone National Park. There she would meet the love of her life, a young man from The Republic of China, Shuang “Jeff” Yao (姚雙).

Her best friend in college, Janet, remembers Mary telling her all about this “Jeff” she had met while up in Yosemite. Their courtship continued, with Jeff taking long bus trips every week to visit her.

After their marriage in 1958, Mary and Jeff spent six years in Taipei, Taiwan, where the joy of their lives, their daughter, Gretta (姚恆), was born.

Her husband’s rise in the diplomatic corps of The Republic of China included assignments in Amman, Jordan; Houston, Chicago, and Washington, DC. The pinnacle of his career was assignment as the Director of the Information Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington, D.C. Mary was a key partner in Jeff’s diplomatic work: the ever-gracious hostess, a caring mentor to newly arrived young diplomats and families, always ready to listen and help.

In the United States as in other postings, Mary continued her career as an educator. In Lee Richmond Elementary School (Special Education) in Hanford California, Taipei American School in Taiwan, the American Community School in Jordan and in numerous schools in the Fairfax County Public School System, she was a beloved and respected teacher. She retired in 2015 as an ESOL teacher at Lynbrook in Virginia.

In addition to all her other responsibilities, Mary always found time to be a caring friend to many, along with those in the local Chinese-American community, including the late author Nien Cheng (Life and Death in Shanghai), with whom she became close friends. Many friends have shared memories of how Mary would call to check on them, how she invited them out for a meal together. She always believed that friendship was one the most treasured things in life.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Jeff and her brother John.

She is survived by her daughter, Gretta.

In lieu of flowers, please support a teacher you know, in some way, to honor her lifelong dedication to education.