Chang Chieh Chen

Chang, also known as Jay to many colleagues, was born to Hanson and Chi Wan Chen, on February 11, 1942, in Nanjing, China. After a few short years living in Nanjing with much of his extended family, Chang and his family fled to Hong Kong in order to avoid potentially dangerous political ramifications once the Communist Party rose to power. Eventually, Chang and his family immigrated to Taiwan where he graduated from a prestigious private university, SooChow University, with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Upon completing his required military service, Chang began the rigorous process of applying to graduate schools in the United States. After acceptance to New Mexico Highlands University, he graduated valedictorian of his class with a master’s in business administration and accepted an offer from Tenneco West, Inc. to begin a position in San Francisco. Shortly after beginning his new position in San Francisco, Chang was transferred to their Bakersfield division. His career at Tenneco spanned 32 years, wherein he survived two mergers, and eventually retired from Dole Fresh Fruit Co.

Destiny and fate played a key role in Chang’s life, as he never met his future wife in Taiwan, but rather in graduate school here in the United States. Chang met, fell in love with, ignored all naysayers, and married Helen Pan, on December 23, 1967. He was a devoted and loving husband to Helen for 55 years, as well as an amazing father to their daughters Melody and Charlene. He always said that he was grateful that he had daughters, because it made him a better man and father. A historian at heart, he loved experiencing new cultures, people and cuisines and spent many of his retirement years happily traveling the world. After a rather short battle with advanced prostate cancer that had metastasized to his bones, he passed peacefully at home and will be sorely missed by those he loved.

Chang is survived by his wife Helen and their daughters, Melody and Charlene. He is also survived by his sister, Lily Chan, along with his nieces and nephews, Tina and Jonathan Chan, as well as Emily and Simon Chen.

Chang’s family will host a celebration of life service on Sunday May 7, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. The service will be held at Fairhaven Memorial Services, 27856 Center, Dr., Mission Viejo, CA, 92692. A reception will follow immediately after the service.