James Yue-Tak Tang

James Yue-Tak Tang, 80, of Houston, Texas, was born in Shanghai, China in 1941. As a child in 1948, he and his family moved to Hong Kong, where he studied at St. Joseph’s College, a Catholic all-boys school. He came to the United States in 1958 and attended Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, where he played varsity soccer and track. He later obtained his bachelor of sciences and master degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. He obtained a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Cornell University. While studying in Boston, he met the love of his life, Jane Niu, whom he eventually married.

James went on to becoming a research engineer at Bell Labs. After returning to Asia to teach as a professor, he was persuaded by his father-in-law to transition to a career in business. James worked for the family businesses before joining Hang Lung Development Co. James subsequently acquired and managed businesses spanning transportation, real estate, parking, and financial services.

Throughout his life, James was passionate about competing in sports, particularly soccer, tennis, and golf. He also enjoyed playing card games, including poker, baccarat, and bridge. He obtained his first sports car in college through a poker game. He was always pursuing unconventional solutions to challenging issues. In graduate school, he aspired to create mathematical models to predict weather formations, and more recently, he was pursuing strategies for optimizing odds in 50/50 probability games. But most of all, he loved visiting and spending time with his grandchildren.

He is survived by his brother, Edward; sisters, Nora and Mabel; son, Andrew; daughter-in-law, Madeline; grandchildren, Isabella and Julian; and many nieces and nephews.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.memorialoaksfunerals.com for the Tang family.