Chin Ming Yang

1945 - 2018

Chin Ming Yang
May 27, 1945 - Feb. 21, 2018
Lafayette
Chin Ming Yang was a beloved husband, father of two, and grandfather of five. Chin was gentle, giving, intelligent, and strong. He showed his grandchildren, Penny, Casey, Maxwell, Owen and Abby, how to plant seeds, patiently wait, and then harvest carrots and cherry tomatoes. To his children, Lynn and Hans, he provided thoughtful guidance and warm support for their endeavors and life decisions. Chin was a loving husband who with his wife Nancy built a wonderful family, career, and life in a foreign country.
Chin was born in Taichung, Taiwan, the youngest of six. His brothers pooled their savings to send the youngest brother to the United States, and Chin left for graduate school with a typewriter in one hand and suitcase in the other. At UPenn, Chin received a PhD in Urban Planning. He met a kind and determined young lady, Nancy, whom he married wearing a tuxedo, white gloves, and a red carnation. Chin spent most of his career at the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in Oakland, CA. He developed regional models to predict job growth, transportation trends, and population movement, which were critical inputs to policy-making in the nine surrounding Bay Area county governments.
Chin's loves included playing tennis, gardening, taking photographs, and participating in Toastmasters. The garden was Chin's sanctuary. He favored small, makeshift plots of practical vegetables (zucchini squash, sugar snap peas) and colorful but modest flowers (pansies, paperwhites, petunias). These gardens were delineated with recycled bricks and bamboo sticks, perhaps because it reminded him of the gardens in his childhood home.
Chin traveled to many places with Nancy, and they would return home to Taiwan every few years to spend time with many relatives. Family vacations to Hawaii and the last one in Mexico, with 11 people in tow, were annual events.
Chin's life was fulfilled, and he filled the lives of his family and friends with warmth, generosity, and care. He was a man of integrity, a humble man who filled any room with a quiet strong presence. This doting, gentle grandfather would take any opportunity to spend time with his grandchildren. Chin would go far out of his way to make sure people were comfortable and provided for. He was a most special person; a dear man who will be missed greatly.


View the online memorial for Chin Ming Yang