Frank Kuowei Chiu, born February 10, 1930, passed away on June 25, 2014 at the age of 84. After battling lung cancer for over 14 months, he developed a severely blocked small bowel and was not able to recover. He passed away comfortably at Saddleback Memorial Hospital, surrounded by his loved ones. He joins his lovely wife, Junying Yuan, who passed in 1971. He is survived by his three daughters, Jin Qiu, Sharon Yu and Linda Shang, also blessed with 6 grandchildren.

Frank was born in Bengbu, Anhui Province of China, the 1st child of 5 children to General Chingchuan Chiu and his wife Sweiking Yeh Chiu. He was separated from his family in 1949 during the war. He graduated from St. Johns University in Shanghai, China in 1952, with a degree in English Literature. He married his beautiful wife Junying Yuan, a graduate of Shanghai Foreign Language University, shortly after his graduation. After his wife's tragic death in 1971 to a medical accident, he remained a widow and a very loving father to his three daughters.

He worked for Shanghai Public Library, specializing in western language book and audio cataloguing. He became a deputy director of Acquisition and Cataloguing department. Besides being a librarian, he translated many English youth books about animals and nature. The most notable books are: The book series of Lang Wang Lobo, Pin Ming Qu Li De Mao, translated to Chinese by Frank from the book of Wild Animals I have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton, published by Shanghai Youth and Children Publishing Company. He also translated numerous articles on western art and culture, and published them in Chinese magazines. His "Yellow Ribbon" story brought this western folk tradition into Chinese culture and became a popular term referenced by many. He also served as an interpreter to several foreign visiting officials in cultural exchange when China first opened its door to western world after Communist Party took power in 1949.

In 1983, he immigrated to the United States, joining two of his daughters, and was finally able to reunite with his mother and other siblings. After a brief stint as a volunteer at Waltham Public Library in Massachusetts, he attended and worked at Columbia University and earned his Master of Science in Library Science with honors at age of 57, the oldest graduate from Columbia's School of Library Science. His perseverance was an inspiration to those who knew him. After receiving his Masters degree, he worked for the American Museum of Natural History in NYC and New York Public Library as a librarian. He was fluent in both Chinese and English, and also able to read in French, Spanish and German languages. With his knowledge of western culture and history, he enjoyed traveling through Europe in late life. He also published as a free lance writer in the World News Chinese newspaper's Sunday columns.

Two years following his retirement at the age of 69, he moved to California to be close to his two daughters. He picked up paintbrushes and began his new love affair with oil paint, watercolors and white canvases. He was captivated by the works of impressionists. He always sought interesting subject matters to put on canvas. Many walls are adorned with his paintings of still life, landscapes, oceans and boats, and portraits of his family. When speaking of his work, he was always humble, as was his nature. As a self-taught pianist and violinist, his unique style of playing enchanted those around him. Chopin and Mozart were his favorite composers. His passion of music was evident in his mountain of CDs in classical music, the oldies, big band and all genres. He was a man with an insatiable desire to learn. Months before he was diagnosed of lung cancer, he was still taking French classes.

After being diagnosed stage 4 lung cancer in Apr of 2013, the doctors told him he had only 6 – 9 months to live. He bravely fought with cancer and was almost clear of cancer cells after a year. During the last 6 months spent in two daughters' homes, he was visited often by his youngest daughter, his brother, sisters, grandchildren, nephews and nieces from all over the world--a testament to how many people's hearts he had touched in his life.

Frank had left us a great deal. So many Chinese children loved his books about nature and animals that the publisher reprinted the books several times after the initial publishing. He enriched all of our lives with art and music. He will be remembered and thoroughly missed as a loving father, brother and grandpa, a considerate, thoughtful and artistically talented person, by families, friends, and all those who knew him.

Please view the Journey of Remembrance at: http://videos.lifetributes.com/504318