Dr. Jie Hu

Dr. Jie Hu of Cranberry Township, PA passed away on May 12, 2022 at the age of 65. She died after an 18-year battle with breast cancer at UPMC Shadyside Hospital, surrounded by her family. Jie was born in China in 1956 and was the daughter of the late Hu Guoming and Wang Furong. She grew up alongside her four siblings during the tumultuous post war and the Cultural Revolution periods. Similar to other Chinese youths of her generation, she was sent to an agricultural commune in the rural countryside after high school, where she developed a deep relationship with her high school classmate and future husband, Dr. Penger Tong. Following the Cultural Revolution, Jie was among the first wave of students who were able to gain admission to the reopened universities in China. She attended Nanjing Railroad Medical University and gained her medical degree in 1982. She practiced as an Obstetrician-Gynecologist in her hometown and married Penger in 1983. She immigrated to the US in 1985, where she attended the University of Pittsburgh and obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Human Genetics in 1993. Following her post-doctoral research positions, she settled back in Pittsburgh and joined the UPMC Cytogenetics Laboratory at Magee-Womens Hospital in 1999, where she rose to become Associate Director until the time of her death.
As a mother and a wife, she was doting and expressed her love for her family through food. She loved the artistic creations of her granddaughters and missed spending more time with them due to the pandemic. Jie was also dedicated to her work and built deep relationships with friends and colleagues in the Pittsburgh area. She was a lover of music and Chinese poetry and spent much of her time singing, learning musical instruments, and composing her own poetry.
Jie is survived by her husband, sisters, Jingxian Hu and Ping Hu, brothers, Cong Hu and Jian Hu, son, Eric Tong, daughter in law, Christina Chiou, and granddaughters, Madison and Sophie. She is deeply missed by her family and friends.
A memorial service honoring Jie will be held at John A. Freyvogel Sons, Inc. (4900 Centre Avenue at Devonshire Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213) at 2:00PM on June 4, 2022.
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