It is with heavy hearts that we announce Yueh-hsin “Leslie” Yu passed away peacefully on May 21, 2025 at the age of 96 in Weston, Massachusetts, where she resided for the past 10 years. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She is survived by her husband (Wei-Wen Yu), three children (Julie Yu, Dorothy Yu and Gordon Yu) and four grandchildren (Brooke Brennan, Logan Yu, Alec Brennan and Holly Yu). She was preceded in death by her parents (Chih-Chien Wang and Chin-Yuan Liu Wang).
Yueh-hsin was born on May 11, 1929, in Yantai, Shandong Province, China, and grew up with a large multi-generational family. She studied medicine for two years at National Shandong University in Tsingtao and served as the Medical School chief representative where she met her future husband, the Engineering School chief representative. During the Chinese Civil war, she emigrated to Taiwan in 1949 with her family and classmates. She earned a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Chemistry from the National Taiwan University in 1952 and, years later, established the Wang Yueh-hsin Scholarship at the university.
On September 6, 1953 Yueh-hsin and Wei-Wen Yu were married in Taipei, Taiwan. She taught Organic Chemistry and worked at the Food Bureau. Her husband moved to the USA for his graduate studies, to begin to establish their lives there. She moved to the USA with her eldest daughter after her husband completed his doctoral degree at Cornell University in 1959. They lived in New York for several years, and she was a computer programmer in Manhattan. After living in California for a brief time, the family settled in Missouri for 47 years. Yueh-hsin and Wei-Wen considered Rolla, Missouri to be their home.
A dedicated and kind-hearted woman, Yueh-hsin was known for her lovely smile and warm spirit. She treasured family gatherings and prepared many delicious home-cooked meals on a daily basis and served as a generous hostess to numerous international scholars and students. She had a green thumb, tending to her diverse garden at their country home in Rolla. She enjoyed reading and was always game for a good laugh. She could not resist a jigsaw puzzle, was a Chinese checker champion, and a ferocious arm wrestler especially given her deceptively petite size. She was consistently challenging herself and learning, forever open to new ideas and developments. She was a true matriarch and served as the backbone of the family. She was deeply loved and her warmth, wisdom and unwavering love will be greatly missed.
A private memorial service for family will be held on May 27, 2025 (10am-12pm) at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home in Wellesley, Massachusetts. A grave site service and interment will be held on May 30, 2025 (10-11:00 am) by Null & Son Funeral Home (https://www.nullandsonfuneralhome.com/) at Ozark Hills Memorial Gardens in Rolla, Missouri.