Chesterfield, Missouri
1920 - 2015
Dr. Tao Ping Li of Chesterfield passed away on Saturday, March 28 2015. He was born in ZiGong City, Sichuan, China on November 16, 1920. He married Grace Li in 1948, and the couple moved to Taiwan in 1949. In Taiwan he began a distinguished career as a chemist, working initially for the Research Institute of Industrial Technology, then coming to the United States in 1957, where he earned master?s and doctoral degrees (1959 and 1960) from the University of Texas. Upon graduation he began working for Amoco (Standard Oil) in Texas City, Texas, and brought his family to the United States in 1961. He was transferred to Amoco's Whiting, Indiana office in 1963. He took a position with Monsanto in Texas City in 1965, and was promoted to Monsanto Headquarters in St. Louis in 1966. He worked for Monsanto until in retirement in 1987. Dr. Li was a Research Fellow at Monsanto, and numerous United States patents bear his name. In retirement he did occasional consulting work for Occidental Petroleum. He also did volunteer work for the United Way, was active in the Chinese Culture Association, and was a regular donor to the Chinese Language School in St. Louis. He enjoyed international travel, tennis, and jogging. An exemplary son and benevolent family man, he regularly sent financial support to his mother in China and always looked after the well-being of his children and grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife, Grace, sons William and Kenneth, daughter Linda Li-Bleuel, daughters-in-law Violet Li and Janet Mclaneli, son-in-law John Bleuel, and grandchildren Eric Li, McKenna Li, Jake Li, Erin Li, Duke Li, Lauren Bleuel, and Luke Bleuel.
Services: Visitation at the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory, 14960 Manchester Road at Holloway, Ballwin, Saturday, 1 p.m. - 4p.m. with Memorial Service from 4 p.m. until 5 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The United Way of America. Friends may sign the family?s on-line guestbook at Schrader.com.
To Dr. Tao Li's family,
My sincere condolences. I had the privilege of having Dr. Li as my first supervisor in R&D at Monsanto. He was a wonderful scientist, leader, mentor and person. He will be missed.
Jerry Ebner
April 06, 2015
A man of accomplishment.
I was in a carpool with Tao in the 1970's. We spent many hours together on Olive Street Road. He was very proud of his family and loved you very much. Our careers at Monsanto meshed and Tao made major technical and commercial contributions to the company. He developed a catalyst for making acrylonitrile, an important monomer used in making fibers. We named it Taocat initially and it later became MAC-3. I believe it is still used today in the commercial production of acrylonitrile. ...
Jim Hill
April 04, 2015 | Des Peres, MO
Dear Linda and family,
Our prayers are with you and your family at this difficult time.
Tim and Nancy Griffin
April 01, 2015 | Starkville, MS
Our thoughts and prayers are with your family at this time. We have such fond memories from years ago.
Chiang-hai and Ching-fei Kuo
April 01, 2015 | Starkville, MS
Dear Ken and family,
My thoughts and prayers are with each of you. May you continue to be blessed by your dads life.
Donna Laseter
April 01, 2015
Dear Ken,
Vida and I extend our sincere condolences to you and all your family in the death of your father, whom we never met but admire greatly because of his professional and personal accomplishments. We know how difficult it is to lose a parent, even at age 94. The passage of time and God's grace will help heal the grief, but nothing ever can truly take the place of your beloved father. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.
John Stanard
March 31, 2015 | Poplar Bluff, MO
