Chia-Chung Cheng

Chia-Chung (C.C.) Cheng passed away peacefully in Sugar Land, Texas at the age of 91. He was born in Tianjin, China on May 5, 1925 and was the only child of Chiu-Wan Chien and Ke-Liang Cheng. At the age of 13, he met the girl who would later become the love of his life, Katherine. Together they attended middle school, high school, and university, where they shared a common love of music, chemistry and sports.

After graduating from Chekiang University in 1949, C.C. left his homeland for graduate studies. At the end of a 17-day journey on the SS President Wilson, he arrived at Pier 41 in San Francisco and then made his way to Austin, Texas. Katherine arrived in 1953, and they were married in the small Texas town of Anderson. C.C. earned a PhD in Chemistry in 1954 from The University of Texas at Austin. Over the next sixty years, with forty spent in Kansas City, he and Katherine raised a family and welcomed eight grandchildren, the apples of his eye.

He completed post-doctoral work at New Mexico Highlands University where he helped to synthesize Allopurinol, used to combat gout. A second postdoctoral role at Princeton University led him to his first job directing a team of scientists at Midwest Research Institute (MRI) in Kansas City in 1959. Subsequent to the passing of his beloved mother in 1963, he dedicated his life’s work to finding a cure for cancer. Among his many accomplishments, one compound he synthesized, Mitoxantrone, is still used today for treatment of breast cancer and non-lymphoid leukemia. He published over 300 scientific research papers and was highly regarded and sought after for his insight and technical prowess as a medicinal chemist. He dedicated his time and talent to boards at the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society. C.C. spent 20 years at MRI and finished his illustrious career in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he served as a professor and director of the cancer center for many years.

After retiring at the age of 74, he and Katherine moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where they enjoyed time with new and old friends at the Chinese American Community Center. He continued to pursue his life-long interests in photography and music. They later relocated back to Texas where they spent many more happy years with children and grandchildren.

C.C. was widely known by family and friends as someone with an unparalleled sense of humor and a penchant for storytelling. He was generous in spirit and service. Every holiday, he and Katherine opened their hearts and home to countless students from China. To his family, C.C. symbolized love, strength and resilience, and conducted himself with grace and gratitude. His reflections about the past and learnings from the present were built upon integrity and humility. He found a balance between his adopted country and his native one, appreciating the beauty and opportunity within America while remaining passionate about Chinese history, literature, poetry and culture.

He is preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Katherine Cheng. He is survived by his daughters: Amy (Anthony Stella) Vollmer of Wilmington, DE; Anna (Joel) Catalano of Sugar Land, TX; Alice (Christopher) Beukers of Singapore; Audrey (Robert) Trevino of Sugar Land, TX, and grandchildren: Jeffrey Vollmer, Katherine Vollmer, Carson Catalano, David Catalano, Alexandra Beukers, William Beukers, Maya Trevino and Sofia Trevino.

The family would like to thank his Altus Hospice care team, the staff at the Sycamores at Brookdale, and especially his devoted caregivers, JoAnn Brown-Jones and Ana Hidalgo.

A memorial service is planned for 10:00am on Wednesday, December 28 at the Settegast-Kopf Co. in Sugar Land, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Altus Hospice or to MD Anderson Cancer Center at www.mdanderson.org/gifts in memory or honor of Dr. C.C. Cheng. Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.settegastkopf.com.