Obituary of Yi-Fen Zhou

Yi-Fen Zhou August 4th, 1929 – September 19, 2019 Yi-Fen Zhou, 90, died on September 19th, 2019 in McLean, Virginia. She leaves behind her two sisters, one brother, two daughters Ching-hsien Wang, JingNing Wang and their husbands, five grandchildren, one great grandson and many close friends. Born and raised in Beijing, China on August 4, 1929, Zhou was the daughter of Henry Chou and Ruth Shu-wen Huie. She lived in Beijing until she moved to Maryland in the United States in the 1987. Zhou graduated from Beijing (Yenching) University in 1954 with a bachelor degree in Biology and worked as a professor at the Beijing Institute of Physical Education from 1955-1987. She was the founder of the Science Research Center at the Institute and served as its first Director. In the early 1980s, she conducted research in Germany and subsequently at Penn State University as a visiting scholar. Upon returning to her institute in Beijing, she established the Science Research Center. After moving to the United States, she worked on the research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine from 1992-1995 before retirement. Zhou lived a challenging but fulfilling life, both in China and the United States. In her childhood she experienced the Japanese occupation of northern China during 1937-1945, lost her father who refused to cooperate with the Japanese occupiers at age 15, and attended and graduated from the top university in China. As an adult, she lived through the Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976) and endured a forced separation from her husband, who was sent to the oil fields for Communist re-education for about five years, before they successfully built a new life together in the United States. She grew thriving gardens, loved fishing, and enjoyed playing piano throughout her life. In her later years she helped to raise her grandchildren, and she visited and enjoyed spending time with her four siblings. A funeral service was held on Sept. 28th 2019 at Advent Funeral Home.