My father, Yang Weimin, 81, passed away on Nov 24, 2021 in Palo Alto, California after a long and fierce battle with brain cancer.
He was born as YangLiangChen 杨良臣 on Nov 3, 1940 in Shanghai, China. Fittingly, LiangChen 良臣 in Chinese means an upstanding public servant. Born as the 4th of 6 brothers, my father came from a large and storied family with legacies of successful businessmen, war heroes and scholars. Having survived the Cultural Revolution of Red China in the 1970s, my father, with the financial help of his eldest brother, attended the prestigious University of Chicago’s Economics PhD program in America which became a turning point in his life. Upon his return to his home country, he was appointed the deputy director of the Foreign Economics Affairs Department at the People’s Bank of China in Beijing. His long and illustrious banking and diplomatic career began there. His draft of an economic vision of a new free market in China became a speech for the then Chinese Premiere Zhao Ziyang  赵紫阳. His subsequent missions as a diplomat and one of China’s top foreign economic policy makers sent him to Washington DC and much of the western developed world for many years to represent his country at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). My father struggled deeply about the next chapter of his career, having to make a choice between his country and his family, when an opportunity presented itself for him to become an independent international staff member at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, Philippines. He ultimately chose the latter so that our family could move overseas with him and so that my sister and I could have an American education. He saw it as a great sacrifice but also a rare opportunity to make a difference elsewhere in the world. As the head of the Agriculture Department of ADB, he traveled extensively across the developing world from Nepal to Kazakhstan in the span of a decade. He led multi-billion dollar lending projects to rebuild infrastructure, bridges and dams to promote agriculture productivity and eradicate poverty in developing countries. One of the projects that was dearest to his heart was researching the reason why yellow croakers were disappearing in the eastern seas of China. Growing up in Zhejiang province, he consumed yellow croakers as a staple and remembered the taste of it fondly throughout his life overseas. The feasibility report from his project was adopted across the Chinese fishing industry to reduce all over-fishing in China. 

An accomplished economist, a widely respected manager and diplomat, my father, despite his busy career, played instrumental roles in our upbringing. I recall the humble days back in Harbin, China in our early childhood where we lived on bare necessities. My father, however, would spend his savings on a tape player so that we could practice English at home. When I had the opportunity to attend the University of Chicago to follow in his footsteps and become an economist, my father instead sent me to study Computer Science at UC Berkeley. This was in the mid 1990s, the era of floppy disks and digital typewriters. He somehow had the vision of a new world where technology would change our lives. He was right in his bold prediction. I became part of the early internet movement that started at Berkeley and met my husband through our joint work at an early search engine startup on campus. The rest was history. 

 On the surface, my father was a male chauvinist. In his 50+ years of marriage to my mother, he never stepped foot inside the kitchen, never washed a dish or fried an egg. In reality, my father adored my mother, my sister and me, and he believed that we could do anything if we put our minds to it. He shared with us the family and personal values that became the cornerstones that guided us through hardships, difficult ethical dilemmas, and staying grounded in the face of great success. My father was a gentleman, a charmer and a rich and willing resource for professional advice as my husband fondly recalls their father-son-in-law relationship over the past 2 decades. An independent thinker who always paved his own unique path ahead, my father retired to Vancouver, British Columbia some 18 years ago where he obtained Canadian residency through a consultancy contract. He didn’t come to his daughters in America nor did he return to his hometown in China to enjoy his retirement like most would’ve done. He continued to push the boundaries to live his life on his own terms. 

 My sons, 10 and 6, fondly refer to him as GongGong, grandpa in his southern Chinese dialect. They remember him as someone who cared a great deal about a good education, who loved lamb chops and alcohol of all kinds, except wine, of which ironically my husband and I happen to be experts! If the grandkids had a choice of spending time with grandpa in his last days, or go play and win a sports game, without a doubt, grandpa always encouraged them to do the latter. More than anything else, he instructed them to pursue their passions, work hard and excel in their pursuits and ultimately become productive contributors to the society. He was very pleased when both of his grandsons took Yang as their middle names. Having lived more than half of his life overseas, my father never lost his love and longing for his Yang family, his hometown and his country. With his influence and connections, whenever he could, he tried to help every member of the Yang family still residing in China. He was a patriot and family man at heart. 

 My father loved his country and his family, but most of all he loved life. In January 2019, he was diagnosed with Glioblastoma — the most deadly form of brain cancer or any cancer for that matter. An average person has a few months to live without proper treatment. Even with advanced treatment, the average survival is 12-15 months. It will be his 3 year anniversary since diagnosis very soon. Less than 4% of all Glioblastoma patients across all ages survive that long and he was one of them. During the past 2+ years, he went through 2 brain surgeries and numerous ongoing treatments and he fought hard every step of the way and tried to enjoy every moment in between. After his first brain surgery, he went on a multi-week trip to Korea and Japan with my mother and sister. Two weeks after his second brain surgery, he got on a plane again to visit Brazil, Argentina and the rest of South America. He and my mother celebrated their 50th golden wedding anniversary with all of us on the paradise island of Maui just a few months before he passed. Antarctica was next on his agenda but sadly he had become too frail to travel. He was famous in Stanford University’s Oncology department for being an incredible adventurer and surviver. I was told that photos of his travels still hang in the common areas at Stanford Neuro Oncology. His love of life also revealed itself in how he always took such good care of his health by exercising daily and eating healthy. He took such pride in proper grooming and dressing even when he was only seeing his doctor on Zoom. He looked at least a decade younger than his actual age until cancer took his youth. When he moved to a full time medical nursing facility a few weeks before his passing, he was completely bedridden but he made sure that his hair was brushed and that he was bathed and changed every morning. His nurses lovingly called him Mr. Handsome. He was their favorite patient because of his exuberance and his zest for life even under the most difficult circumstances. Through it all, he never prepared to die. Even though it was sad that he never had any last words with us, I wanted to celebrate his strong will to live. The paramedics who carried him from my house to the medical facility said goodbye to him and he responded “I will see you again!”. He never saw them again. But with great admiration I can say that he never gave up on life and truly lived life to its fullest. It was, without a doubt, a life well-lived. He is survived by his wife Jun Li, his daughters Song and Rona Yang, his sons-in-law Chris Harrison and Gary Chevsky, his grandsons Evan & Leyton Yang Chevsky, his 2 brothers in China and many nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews around the world. We will all try to carry on his legacy to live our lives to the fullest. We miss him dearly. R.I.P

Chinese translation below: 

我的父亲杨为民 81 岁，在与脑癌进行了长期而激烈的斗争后,  于2021 年 11 月 24 日在加利福尼亚州帕洛阿尔托去世。

1940年11月3日出生于中国上海，原名杨良臣。恰如其分地良臣的意思是正直的公仆. 我父亲是 6 个兄弟中的第 4 个，来自一个拥有成功商人、战争英雄和学者的大家庭。父亲在 1970 年代的中国文化大革命中幸存下来，在大哥的经济帮助下，在美国攻读著名的芝加哥大学经济学博士课程，这成为他人生的转折点。回国后，任中国人民银行外事局副局长。他漫长而辉煌的银行业和外交生涯始于那里。他的中国新自由市场经济愿景草案成为当时中国总理赵紫阳的演讲稿。他随后作为外交官和中国最高对外经济决策者之一的使命派他到华盛顿特区和西方发达国家的大部分地区工作多年，在世界银行和国际货币基金组织（IMF）代表他的国家。我父亲为他职业生涯的下一个篇章深深挣扎，不得不在他的国家和他的家庭之间做出选择，当时他有机会成为菲律宾马尼拉亚洲开发银行 (ADB) 的一名独立国际工作人员。他最终选择了后者，这样我们家就可以移居海外，我和姐姐可以接受美国教育。他认为这是一种巨大的牺牲，但也是在世界其他地方有所作为的难得机会。作为亚行农业部的负责人，他在十年间走遍了发展中国家，从尼泊尔到哈萨克斯坦。他领导了数十亿美元的贷款项目，以重建这些发展中国家的基础设施、桥梁和水坝，以提高农业生产力并消除贫困。他最珍视的项目之一是研究黄鱼在中国东部海域消失的原因。在浙江长大的他，以黄花鱼为主食，在海外的生活中，他深情地记住了黄鱼的味道。他的项目可行性报告被整个中国渔业采用，以减少中国的过度捕捞。

我的父亲是一位有成就的经济学家、广受尊敬的经理和外交官，尽管他的职业生涯很忙，但在我们的成长过程中发挥了重要作用。我回想起小时候在中国哈尔滨的简陋日子，我们过着赤贫的生活。然而，我父亲会把他的积蓄花在录音机上，这样我们就可以在家练习英语。当我有机会进入芝加哥大学跟随他的脚步成为一名经济学家时，但我父亲送我去加州大学伯克利分校学习计算机科学。那是在 1990 年代中期，软盘和数字打字机的时代，不知何故，他有一个新世界的愿景，技术将改变我们的生活。他的大胆预测是正确的。我成为伯克利早期互联网运动的一部分，并通过我们在校园内一家早期搜索引擎初创公司的联合工作认识了我的丈夫。剩下的就是历史了。

从表面上看，我父亲是一个大男子主义的人。在他与我母亲的 50 多年婚姻中，他从未踏入厨房，从未洗过盘子或煎过鸡蛋。事实上，我父亲崇拜我的母亲、我的姐姐和我，他相信只要我们用心去做，我们就可以做任何事情。他与我们分享了家庭和个人价值观，这些价值观成为引导我们渡过艰辛、艰难的道德困境并在巨大成功面前保持脚踏实地的基石。我的父亲是一位绅士、一个有魅力的人，并且是一位丰富而乐于提供专业建议的资源，因为我丈夫深情地回忆了他们过去 20 年的父女婿关系。我的父亲是一位独立的思想家，总是为自己铺平道路，大约 18 年前退休到不列颠哥伦比亚省温哥华，在那里他通过咨询合同获得了加拿大居留权。他没有来美国找女儿，也没有像大多数人那样回到中国的家乡享受退休生活。他继续突破界限，按照自己的方式生活。

我的儿子，10 岁和 6 岁，用他的南方方言亲切地称他为公公。他们记得他是一个非常关心良好教育的人，他喜欢羊排和除葡萄酒外的各种酒，但具有讽刺意味的是，我和我丈夫恰好是葡萄酒专家！如果孩子们可以选择在公公的病床陪伴他，或者去打一场体育比赛，毫无疑问，公公总是鼓励他们做后者。最重要的是，他指示他们追求自己的热情，努力工作并在追求中脱颖而出，最终成为对社会有益的贡献者。当他的两个孙子都以杨为中间名时，他很高兴。父亲大半辈子都在海外生活，但从未失去对杨家、家乡、国家的爱与思念。凭借他的影响力和人脉，他尽可能地帮助仍然居住在中国的杨家的每一位成员。他是一个爱国者和爱家人。

我父亲爱他的国家和他的家人，但最重要的是他热爱生活。 2019 年 1 月，他被诊断出患有胶质母细胞瘤——这是最致命的脑癌或任何癌症。如果没有适当的治疗，普通人只能活几个月。即使采用高级治疗，平均生存期也为 12-15 个月。这将是他确诊后的 3 周年纪念日。在所有年龄段的所有胶质母细胞瘤患者中，只有不到 4% 能存活这么长时间，而他就是其中之一。在过去2年多的时间里，他经历了2次开脑手术和无数次持续治疗，每走一步都努力奋斗，努力享受中间的每一刻。第一次脑部手术后，他和我的母亲和姐姐去韩国和日本进行了为期数周的旅行。在第二次脑部手术两周后，他再次登上飞机前往巴西、阿根廷和南美洲其他地区。就在他去世前几个月，他和我母亲在毛伊岛上与我们所有人一起庆祝了他们 50 年的金婚纪念日。南极洲是他的下一个议程，但遗憾的是他已经变得太虚弱而无法旅行。他在斯坦福大学肿瘤学系出名，因为他是一位了不起的冒险家和幸存者。有人告诉我，他旅行的照片仍然挂在斯坦福神经肿瘤学的公共区域。他对生活的热爱也体现在他如何通过每天锻炼和健康饮食来照顾自己的健康。即使他只打算在 Zoom 上看医生，他也为适当的打扮。在癌症夺走他的青春之前，他看起来至少比实际年龄年轻了十岁。当他在去世前几周搬到全职医疗护理机构时，他完全卧床不起，但他确保自己的头发得到梳理，每天早上都洗得干净，换衣服。他的护士们亲切地称他为帅哥。他是他们最喜欢的病人，因为他精力充沛，即使在最困难的情况下也对生活充满热情。通过这一切，他从未准备去死。尽管他从未与我们说最后一句话令人难过，但更重要的是，我想庆祝他坚强的生活意志。把他从我家抬到医疗机构的护理人员向他道别，他回答说：“我会再见到你的！”。他再也没有见过他们。但我可以非常钦佩地说，他从未放弃过生活，真正过得充实。毫无疑问，这是一场美好的生命。

他留下来的妻子、2个女儿和女婿、2个孙子以及他在中国的2个兄弟以及许多来世界各地侄女、侄子和曾侄女曾侄子。我们都将努力继承他的精神遗产，让我们的生活过得最充实。我们非常想念他。R.I.P