Loretta Mu-Lan Wang

Loretta Mu-Lan Wang died peacefully at the age of 79 in the early morning hours of April 25, 2014. She was born near Qingdao, Shan Dong Province in Mainland China on August 14, 1934. Her early life was characterized by comfort and wealth, but this changed quickly with the civil war in China and the victories and advancement of the Communist Chinese. She lost all her immediate family except for an older brother who had enlisted in the Nationalist Chinese Navy and was not in their hometown when the Communists arrived. She made the harrowing escape to Qingdao on her own. It was there that she met and was adopted by the Liu family who would help her leave Mainland China in 1949 with the retreating Nationalist government of Chiang Kai Shek. She settled into a new life in Taiwan and eventually, she reunited with her brother.

She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the National Taiwan University School of Nursing. During her studies at the University, she met Paul Yi-Fei Wang and they married on May 18, 1959. In 1960, they welcomed a daughter, Lucy. Her husband was a member of the Taiwanese Foreign Service and his assignment to Vancouver, BC, Canada brought them to North America in 1962. She made a new life for her family and continued to work as a nurse. She and Paul welcomed two additional daughters, Anne in 1962 and Margaret in 1967.

In her golden years, she spent the time traveling with her husband Paul to all fifty States and almost every continent with the exception of Antarctica. She enjoyed every aspect of travelling, especially meeting children and young people from different countries. Her final memorable trip was an Alaskan cruise with her immediate family and grandchildren. Gardening was always a passion and even as her mobility declined and did not allow her to continue this activity, she found ways to fulfill her passion by visiting the Portland Rose Garden and The Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. She was an amazing cook and all would agree that her pot stickers were the best! Above all else, she loved and enjoyed her grandchildren, Logan and Nicholas Casali.

She leaves behind her three daughters, Lucy Wang, Anne Wang and Margaret Wang; her son-in-law Dick Casali; and grandsons, Logan and Nicholas Casali.