Yu “Danny” Hou, 94, passed away peacefully on December 9, 2020, surrounded by his devoted wife, Esther Hou, and his loving daughters, Jean Huang and Janet Hou.
Yu was born in Liaoning, China, to the late Xin Wu Hou and Han Shi Hou. He received a BS, MS, and PhD from National Taiwan University (Department of Agronomy). He was forever an intellect, always curious
and wanting to understand how things worked and why.
Shortly after finishing his undergraduate studies, Yu was wrongly detained and imprisoned for 10 years, perceived as a student political activist, during Taiwan’s “White Terror” suppression of academics and political dissidents. Later in life, he never held ill will towards anyone for this very trying time, and was kind and patient with all that met him.
Yu moved to East Lansing, MI, in 1972 to work for Michigan State University, and then shortly thereafter to Buffalo, NY, working in the cytogenetics field at Roswell Park Memorial Institute. He continued research at UNC (Cell Biology and Anatomy) in Chapel Hill, NC.
While Yu was very intellectual in his pursuits, he was also very artistic, writing Chinese poems, practicing Chinese calligraphy, and shooting film photography. After retirement, Yu was an avid bridge player and yogi. He enjoyed traveling and being outdoors to enjoy nature. But most of all, Yu was devoted to his family, visiting them as often as possible across the United States, China, and Taiwan. He will be missed by so many for his thoughtfulness, genuine caring, and selfless consideration for others.
Yu is survived by Esther, his wife of 48 years, by his daughters Jean Huang (Paul) of Vienna, VA, and Janet Hou (Marc Bellemare), of St. Paul, MN, by his three grandchildren Jasmine Huang, Sage Huang, Sophia Bellemare, by his sister Shou Ye of Beijing, China, by his nephews and nieces Anping Hou, Anlee Krupp, Anchi Hou, Zhi Li, Fei Li, Jian Sheng Hou, Jian Qun Hou, Jian Xin Hou, and many grand-nephews and grand-nieces.
Yu was preceded in death by his parents Xin Wu Hou and Han Shi Hou, by his brothers Kai Hou and Yue Hou, and by his niece Jian Sui Hou.
A service will not be held at this time; a private celebration of his life will be arranged at a later time.
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