Obituaries

Mr. An Zou passed away at his home in Fremont, California, on the afternoon of September 17, 2024, at 4:43 PM, after fighting with lung cancer for 9 months. He was 83 years old.

Mr. Zou was born on May 17, 1942, in Zou’s Village, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, where he spent his childhood and teenage years. After graduating from high school in 1960 with outstanding grades, he was admitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Beijing Institute of Technology. After graduating in 1965, Mr. Zou worked at the Zibo Machinery Factory in Shandong Province, where he served as a technician and engineer. In 1972, he joined a national engineering design institute, where he worked on consulting, designing, and evaluating key national industrial projects. During this period, he lived with his family in Chengdu, Shijiazhuang, and Beijing, among other cities. After retiring in Beijing in 2002, he was rehired by his workplace and continued to work until 2010. In 2011, Mr. Zou and his wife moved permanently to the United States to live with their eldest daughter's family in Fremont, California, where they have lived ever since.

Mr. Zou came from a humble farming family in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Through hard work and intelligence, he was admitted to university and eventually became an engineering expert. He was meticulous in his work and humble in character, starting from the ground level and working his way up to roles including engineer, senior engineer, professor-level senior engineer, deputy director of the research office, and chief project designer. He was recognized and rewarded multiple times by his workplace for his innovative achievements.

In his later years, Mr. Zou enjoyed time with his grandchildren and cherished family life. He was deeply devoted to his family and had a wide range of interests, making many friends and maintaining an optimistic outlook on life. He loved traveling and, together with his family, visited numerous countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Panama, and Mexico. An avid fisherman, he often shared his catch with friends, and playing poker and Chinese chess with family and friends had been a favorite pastime for decades.

However, life is unpredictable, and illness can be cruel. During his illness, Mr. Zou was touched by God's grace and was baptized, becoming a Christian.

Mr. Zou is survived by his wife of 54 years, his eldest daughter and her family of four, and his youngest daughter and her family of four.

His ashes will be interred at Skylawn Memorial Park in scenic Half Moon Bay, Northern California.

Mr. Zou will forever live on in the hearts of his loved ones and friends.