Cheng-Yuan Shao

Cheng-Yuan Shao Cheng-Yuan Shao, 78, of Hallworth House in Providence, R.I., died Thursday, Nov. 17, 2005. He is survived by his wife, Fen Fang Shao. Services were Sunday at Monahan Drabble Sherman Funeral Home, 230 Waterman St., Providence, RI (401- 331-4592). Memorial contributions may be made to Big Bend Hospice, 1723 Mahan Center Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32308, or to Purple Mountain Observatory, Nanjing, China, care of Peter Chang, 1828 Doric Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32303. Born in Luyi, Henan Province, China, he was the eldest son of the late Shao Ziqi and Shao Renshi. He came to the United States in 1959 and had lived in Tallahassee and Lexington, Mass. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from National Taiwan University and a master's degree from Harvard University. He was an astronomer at the Harvard University-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass., for 32 years, retiring in 1994. He also worked to advance astronomy in the People's Republic of China. Survivors include three daughters, Eugenia Shao of Pawtucket, R.I., Maria Shao of Redwood City, Calif., and Gao-Wen Shao of Cambridge, Mass.; a son, Luyi Shao of Alexandria, Va.; six grandchildren, Jason and Eric Steinberg, Samuel and Julia Triest, Allison Shao and Alexander Liebson; a brother, Shao Zhentai; a sister, Shao Zhenqi; and a brother-in-law and sister-in-law Peter and Maria Chang of Tallahassee.