Alex KUO

Spokane - Age 86, died in June 2025, in Anacortes, Washington, while vacationing on Lopez Island, a watery landscape he loved and visited for over forty years. For the last three years, he has resided in Spokane, Washington.

Alex was born in January of 1939 in Boston, Massachusetts, while his parents, Kuo Zing Yang and Lin Qui Fang, were visiting the United States on research fellowships. He returned to Chongqing, China, when he was nine months old. Alex survived the war years in Chongqing and Shanghai, leaving in 1947 for Hong Kong with remnants of his family. At seventeen, he returned to the United States to continue his education, first at Loomis Chaffee School, then Knox College for his Bachelor of Arts, and finally his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Alex had a distinguished career as a teacher, writer, and administrator. For thirty-three years he taught at Washington State University and had previous positions in Colorado, Illinois, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, and South Dakota. Committed to opening access to higher education, Alex was vice-chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and chairman of the newly created Comparative American Cultures department at Washington State University.

Alex was a dedicated teacher who worked tirelessly to inspire his students, giving them the means to become artists, writers, and independent thinkers. Beloved by many, Alex traveled and taught in the United States, China, and Europe, receiving a Senior Fulbright Fellowship, a United Nations research award, and Lingnan and Rockefeller fellowships. These global encounters gave him an opportunity to learn from young people and writers of all ages who were often marginalized and silenced. What better gift than to listen?

A prolific writer, Alex received the American Book Award in 2002 for his short story collection, Lipstick and Other Stories. He received two National Endowment for the Arts grants and one fiction fellowship. His poetry has been translated into Chinese, and a selection of his stories are being translated into Italian.

When not teaching, writing, or designing university programs, he spent summers working for the United States Forest Service, fighting fires, smoke jumping, living in lookouts, and studying the dynamics of fire management. The woods and mountains of Washington, Colorado, and New Mexico were not only an inspiration for his writing but also a sanctuary away from the troubled past of war and political violence that he had experienced.

Alex is survived by his wife, Joan Burbick. Alex and Joan were partners for forty-five years, marrying in 2000 on a beautiful day in Taos, New Mexico. He is survived by the daughter of Joan Burbick, Claire, and grandchild, Jasper, Claire's son.

He is also survived by his son Michael and Michael's mother, Carol Schmudde, and son Stephen, daughter-in-law Jeanette, grandchildren Mateo and Malcolm, and Stephen's mother, Cherste Nilde. He is also survived by stepdaughter, Leisha, daughter of Alexis Kuo, deceased.

In place of a memorial, donations can be sent to Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge in Cheney, Washington.