Jenny Yuan Kang

Jenny Yuan Kang, 42, of Plano, Texas, passed away Friday, December 29, 2023. She was born in Nanjing, China on March 24, 1981, to Tiejun Hong and Xiaosong Zhou. Jenny passed away after a hard-fought battle against an advanced stage four stomach cancer.

Jenny immigrated to the United States from China when she was 12 years old. Her family first lived in Lubbock and then moved to Amarillo, Texas. Jenny graduated from Amarillo High School and went to college at Texas A&M University.

Jenny met her future husband, Chris Kang, in College Station, Texas, where they were both attending Texas A&M. She was pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology and graduated in May of 2003. After graduation, Jenny lived and worked in San Antonio as a researcher while pursuing a PhD, before deciding on a better path and moving to Dallas in 2006. After nearly four years of dating and sharing a deep love and devotion, Jenny and Chris were married in Laguna Beach, California on January 6, 2007, one year after he proposed to her on the exact same beach. Jenny and Chris have one nine-year-old son, Greyson Kang.

Jenny worked as a senior analyst in the oil and gas industry for Denbury Resources, Springbok Energy, Covey Park, and White Rock Oil & Gas. During her working years, she also completed her Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Jenny had a passion for traveling, photography (specifically doing family photos for others), and all things food-related. She loved trying out new restaurants and cuisines and was an excellent cook herself. Her dream was to travel the world. She was a loving, generous, and friendly person, with a smile that could light up a room. Jenny loved everything about being a mom to Greyson, and she was truly a phenomenal mom. She was nurturing, caring, teaching, and supportive, and she gave him lots of hugs and kisses in abundance. She also loved spending time with her friends, always eager to help, and gave selflessly of her time. While her time on earth was cut short, Jenny shared more than a full lifetime’s worth love to her family and friends.

Professionally, Jenny was great at her job and went above and beyond; she was inquisitive and analytical using her research background, going beyond what was required to do more than what was needed. Even while she was battling cancer, Jenny analyzed the available research and read scientific papers to learn everything possible to find avenues to treat her disease. Many times, it was her introducing updated research and information to the doctors and nurses. Jenny fought her cancer to the very end, and while the cancer may have killed her body, it did not kill her fighting spirit.

Jenny is survived by Chris, her husband of 17 years, their son Greyson, their two dogs, Lily and Molly, her father Tiejun Hong, and her mother Xiaosong Zhou. She was deeply loved and cherished and will be greatly missed.