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Fu - mei Chen Lin, our cherished wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and mentor, passed away peacefully after a long illness early in the evening of Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Her three children and husband of 57 years were by her side.
Born the fourth of five surviving children to Chin - Fong Chen and Yeh - Or Wu Chen in Jiayi, Taiwan on July 2, 1939, Fu - mei grew up a loving sister and daughter who enjoyed reading and riding her bike. After losing her mother at the young age of 12, her intelligence and scholastic aptitude were recognized by her brother Ming – Reh Chen, who was 18 years her senior. Ming - Reh encouraged her to excel academically, giving her the support needed, which Fu - mei always spoke of with gratitude.
Fu - mei’s love of learning led to her earning her Bachelor’s Degree in 1963 in Physics and Science Education from the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan. It was while studying there that she met her future husband Fu - Tyan, who was in the same program. Although Fu - mei was the only female student in the program at the time, she made many lifelong friends, both male and female, during her time in college. Fu - mei and Fu - Tyan have vacationed and stayed in contact with their college classmates and their families in the 59 years since graduation.
Fu - mei was a physics instructor at Tan Sue Institute of Technology and the National Taiwan Normal University for six years. She and Fu - Tyan were married on February 9, 1965 in Taipei City, Taiwan. Fu - mei immigrated to the United States with their three children to join Fu - Tyan in Akron, Ohio in September, 1971. While raising her young children, Fu - mei managed to work part-time, open a restaurant, and earn an M.S. in Physics in 1975 and a Ph.D in Polymer Science in 1981, both from the University of Akron, OH. She was eternally grateful for the kindness and guidance of her advisors Dr. James Harwood and Dr. Charles Wilson III.
After her doctorate, Fu - mei served as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the chemistry departments of both the University of Louisville, KY and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA before starting at Calgon Corporation in Pittsburgh, where she worked until the facility closed in early 2000. Her duties ranged from establishing and managing methodologies and equipment for a new Gel Permeation Chromatography/Light Scattering laboratory, to supporting innovative research in cosmetics and other commercial products. During this time, she provided training to colleagues and also mentored a number of summer interns who were sponsored by the company and by the Society of Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP), of which she was an active member. The interns considered their time with Fu - mei to be formative to their own careers.
After her career at Calgon, Fu - mei worked at Bayer Corporation as an interim research chemist, at the University of Pittsburgh as assistant director of the Combinatorial Chemistry Center, and at PPG Industries in the NMR laboratory, before retiring in March, 2013 at the age of 73. She holds 1 patent and authored 10 published papers. Fu - mei served in a number of roles for the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP) including secretary, treasurer, and chair. She also chaired numerous committees including the Carnegie Science Fair for SACP and the SSP Starter Grant. From 1976 on, she was also a member of the American Chemical Society. In 2013, Fu - mei was the recipient for SSP of the Carnegie Science Award for Leadership in STEM Education.
Despite her many professional accomplishments in the fields of polymer characterization by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Gel Permeation Chromatography, and Light Scattering, Fu - mei’s passions were her family and friends, and the promotion of science education for children. She was a driving force in her own children’s and grandchildren’s educations, and tutored numerous students starting in 1985 until recent years, always available for “emergency” sessions. Many of her students entered STEM fields of work and stayed in touch for years. She also volunteered at the Pittsburgh East Chinese Church Chinese School to help support the program for her grandchildren living locally.
Fu - mei’s children were given many music practice sessions in addition to science and math tutoring sessions. Having learned piano as a teen, Fu - mei loved classical music and enjoyed hearing it being practiced almost (nearly) daily until her children left for college. She instilled a love of all art forms in her children also, providing classes, materials, and the freedom to produce art where they wished, even on the walls of their home on Barton Drive in Churchill, PA. Her children and grandchildren also were afforded the freedom and materials to perform science experiments any time and any place they wished, often with her help and smiling interest. They were never told to stop being curious and adventurous but encouraged to follow their passions and try to find answers to their questions.
Almost everyone who knows Fu - mei knows of her love of hosting and cooking Chinese and Taiwanese food for parties. The Lin Eggroll recipe was developed jointly by Fu - mei (the filling) and Fu - Tyan (the wrapper) in the 1970’s when eggrolls were still a relatively unfamiliar food in the U.S. Over their lifetimes, they made by hand, completely from scratch, approximately 100,000 eggrolls for the many customers, colleagues, teachers, friends, and family members who were their elated recipients. A close second favorite activity to cooking was shopping. Fu - Tyan helpfully carried many bags of goods of all varieties, adding his own items, usually food. The shopping resulted in many gifts for friends, family, and, occasionally, passersby. Invitations to the house, to a restaurant, or to the Sherwood Oaks dining room for a meal were frequently given to everyone in the room at any time for any reason.
The family would like to thank the incredible Sherwood Oaks Skilled Nursing staff who took care of both Fu - mei and Fu - Tyan the last year of Fu - mei’s life with such love and concern. You are a credit to your profession.
Fu - mei was predeceased by her parents, older brother, and two older sisters. She is survived by her husband Fu - Tyan Lin; her sister Hwei - mei (Tien - Wu) Chang; daughters Ellen (Chris Wolfe) Lin and Alice (Jeff) Welch; son Kai (Marna Furman) Lin; grandchildren Nicholas (Rachel Buck) Wolfe, Aiden Wolfe, Kyler Lin, Derek Wolfe, Marcus Welch, Kiara Lin, Brenda Welch, Sophia Furman, Stella Furman, and Archer Furman. She is also survived by sisters - in - law including Chun - mei, Chio - chun, Ming - jue, Shin - hua, and Chiou - jin; brothers - in - law; many nieces, nephews, grand - nieces, grand - nephews, and cousins; and countless bereaved friends and colleagues around the world.
Fu - mei’s family held a private viewing followed by cremation on April 29th at the McDonald - Aeberli Funeral Home in Mars, PA. A celebration of Fu - mei’s life and achievements is being planned for June 10, 2022 with invitations to be sent soon. Online condolences are available at www.mcdonald-aeberli.com. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a scholarship being set up in Fu-mei's name by sending an email to FumeiCLinScholarship@gmail.com. Updated information will be shared from that account as it becomes available.