Mary Kuo

1938 - 2022

Mary Kuo
Our family grieves the passing of Mary Tan-lee Kuo, who died peacefully at the age of 84 in the loving embrace of her family on December 13 at 11:30 a.m. at her home in Walnut Creek, California. She was a loving, devoted, and selfless mother to four children, grandmother to five, and great-grandmother to two, and was adored by all of them.
Mary was born on January 8, 1938, in Hankou, Hubei province, China. Her rich and storied life took her to Taiwan in 1949, then to Columbus, Ohio in 1956, where she met her future husband Jenkai, then to Stanford and to Berkeley where the two were married in 1961, and then to the little town of Apalachin, New York, where she raised her children - all the while publishing prolifically in numerous Chinese-language newspapers and magazines. The family moved to Tucson, Arizona, in 1978, and as her children reached adulthood she began traveling back and forth to China with increasing frequency. In 1999, she and Jenkai moved to Beijing, where she lived for the next 20 years. Mary kept herself busy not only with the family business but with many philanthropic activities. All her adult life, she worked tirelessly to advance the cause of better U.S.-China relations.
Mary is survived by her four children John, Kaiser, Jay, and Mimi; by her five grandchildren Kaili Pujie, Camille Puqing, Hartley Puyu, Guenevere Puxin, and Johnny Puren; and by great-grandchildren Tahira and Assan.
A service in her memory will be held at the Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, on January 6 at 3 pm. Her remains will be interred at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, along with the ashes of her beloved husband Jenkai and her daughter-in-law Rachael.