Yu Clare Sun

We are sad to announce the passing of Yu Clare Sun. She passed away unexpectedly on September 21st, 2022, after a successful hike of Mt. Whitney with her friends. She was a beloved wife, mother, sister, and friend to many. Although she left us much too early, she died doing what she loved and truly lived her life to the fullest.

Clare was born on November 20th, 1962, in Nong An, Jilin Province, China. Her parents were both teachers, and from a young age she had a thirst for knowledge. She was the oldest of three siblings and had always been a pillar of the family and a model for her younger sister and brother. Clare always pursued prestigious and state-of-the-art fields of study, wanting to make the most of her education. In 1984 she graduated with a B.S. in Physics from Jilin University, and later received her master’s in Economics and Management from Jilin University in 1987. After graduation, she worked as a lecturer at Jilin University. Those who knew her in her college days remember her as smart, kind, generous, energetic, industrious and disciplined. She would get up early in the morning to practice her martial arts and was always the last one returning to her dorm room from the library at night.

During her time at Jilin University, she met her future husband, Qisheng Huo, a Chemistry student at the same university. They were married in 1987. A year after that, she became a mother to her lovely daughter, Mae Xintong Huo.

In 1989, she came to America to study at Indiana University and eventually received a master’s degree in Computer Science. She started her career as a programmer analyst working for a healthcare analytics startup in Santa Barbara. She then worked at Thomson Reuters and Intel, eventually returning to Thomson Reuters where she worked under Truven Health Analytics and later IBM. Throughout her life, she was diligent and hard-working, always taking on more work than expected of her.

The family lived in many different places while in the US. In 1999, she welcomed her beloved second daughter, Amy Xinxin Huo, in Buffalo, New York. After Mae graduated from high school and left for college, they moved to Richland, Washington. During this time, Clare began attending church. A devoted Christian, her many acts of service include volunteering in the youth ministry, leading musical worship, and serving as deacon in the Tri-Cities Chinese Alliance Church.

Clare was happily married to Qisheng for 30 years despite having to endure many years of long-distance as one or the other would live abroad for work. There were also many difficult years when Qisheng was undergoing treatment for and eventually passed away from cancer in 2017.

In the meantime, Clare was overjoyed by Mae's success in medical school and her marriage to classmate Josh Wallsh. Mae and Josh had a daughter, Izzy Kunpeng Wallsh, whom Clare absolutely adored and would often visit. Izzy was always excited to see her “laolao”. When COVID struck, the whole family found themselves living in Mae’s house for about a year. In this challenging time, Clare still found a blessing in being able to spend time with and take care of her daughters and grand daughter who were usually far away.

Clare later moved to Seattle, where she spent a lot of quality time with friends hosting dinners, playing cards, hiking, and enjoying other social activities. Clare was physically active her whole life. Her many pastimes included martial arts, running marathons, curling, dancing, and hiking. Clare also loved to travel, whether visiting faraway family, going on business trips, or vacationing with friends. She loved music, singing often in the church choir or for church services. She kept Enya and Janet Jackson CDs and was so thrilled to go to musical concerts ranging from Celine Dion in Las Vegas, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Last Night of the Proms, and even just the various recitals her daughters played at.

She brought happiness and joy to those around her, and she was happy to be surrounded by others. Even though she was physically apart from the rest of her family, she continued to demonstrate her unwavering depth of care through frequent visits and virtual connection. Clare will be remembered by her friends for her kindness, intellect, resilience and energy. Her thoughtful and caring nature befriended her to those who met her in all parts of her life, many of whom had formed a lifetime bond with her that transcended distance. She was energetic and adventurous and had genuine appreciation for all she experienced in life. Above all, she was a loving and devoted wife and mother, an excellent cook, who cared immensely for her husband, daughters, and granddaughter. Her family was what made her truly happy and proud. She will be deeply missed by all but memories of her will be forever cherished.

Yu Clare Sun is survived by her two daughters, Mae and Amy Huo in addition to her sister Zuo Sun and brother Qi Sun.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 PM PST on Saturday November 12th, 2022 at the Tri-Cities Chinese Alliance Church in Richland, WA with a graveside service at Evergreen-Washelli in Seattle on November 13th, 2022 at 2PM. We hope to celebrate and remember her life during this time.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Evergreen-Washelli.com for the Sun family.