Ms. May Chao, with maiden name of May Jiang, passed away at 3:00 a.m. on March 30, 2017 at the age of 95. Funeral services will be at 2:30 pm Monday, April 3, 2017 at Renner-Wikoff Chapel & Crematory, 1900 S. Philo Rd., Urbana. Burial will be in Roselawn Cemetery at a later date.

Ms. May Chao was born on March 22, 1922 in Beijing, China and spent most of her early life in Beijing, Shanghai and Cong Qing. She had two brothers from the same parents and six brothers from her father's first marriage.

She finished her primary school and middle school both in Beijing. She graduated from the Department of Foreign Literature, National Central University of China in 1946, with a B.A. degree of English.

The first time May met her husband, Mr. Bei-Tse Chao, was in 1945 in Congqing (the provision wartime capital of China), when Mr. Chao was sent there for training in English and politics, being prepared for his graduate study in UK.

After Mr. Chao received his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering in 1947, May went to UK and married Dr. Bei-Tse Chao in 1948. It was a month-long trip at a time and was very hard for a young woman that had hardly set foot outside their city limits! That showed how strong and determined a personality May had.

The couple came to USA after the marriage. Dr. Chao started working in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They have been staying there since then.

Ms. May Chao met Ms. Kwei Fu when she was studying in the high school and they became the best friends. In a turn of fate, they unknowingly met and married Bei-Tse Chao and Franklin Chao respectively, while Bei-Tse and Franklin were brothers. Most surprisingly, when Kwei Fu and Franklin died in a car accident, and left two orphans, Fred and Clara, it was their destiny, not having children of their own, to adopt and take care of them into adulthood! With strong mind, Ms. May Chao was also a very cheerful person and she has received deep love and respect by both families of Mr. and Mrs. Chao. She will be missed.