Shao Shen Yam Mai

Shao Shen Yam Mai, age 84, passed away on October 15, 2023 at the William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, UT Southwestern Medical Center. Her death follows that of her husband, Chao Chen Mai in 2019. Chao and Shao were married for 55 years.

Shao Mai was born in 1939 in Canton, China, the youngest of three sisters. Her father was a successful businessman and accomplished calligrapher. Forced to flee mainland China by the advancing Chinese Communist army, Shao’s family fled to Hong Kong in the 1940s, where her father set up a brush-making business. Shao and her sisters eventually attended school in Taiwan.

Shao met her future husband by tagging along to the movies with one of her older sisters. She and Chao soon began to envision a future together. In 1962, Chao emigrated to the United States to pursue graduate degrees in electrical engineering at Oregon and Utah State Universities. Shao followed a year later, to begin her own studies in pharmaceutical chemistry at Utah State.

The couple married in 1964. Their first son, Glenn, was born in 1966, the same year Shao obtained her master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Biochemistry. The young family moved to Massachusetts when Chao accepted a job at the electronics firm Mostek. In 1971, Shao and Chao's younger son, Kenneth, was born, and the family moved to Texas a year later.

The Mais were proud Texans, and they appreciated the state’s technology-friendly environment where Chao was able to build a semiconductor design and manufacturing business.

Chao and several Mostek colleagues founded Dallas Semiconductor Corporation, a specialty integrated circuit manufacturer in 1984. The company thrived, taking its stock public on the NASDAQ Exchange only three years later. In 1990, the corporation was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. By 2000, Dallas Semiconductor employed more than 1,500 people, primarily at its Dallas headquarters. Chao often said that his success was made possible by his partnership with Shao, who managed home life while he worked long hours.

In addition to her work supporting her husband’s corporate endeavors, Shao was an accomplished painter of Chinese watercolors. She volunteered her time at her sons’ school, St. Mark’s School of Texas, and contributed to many charitable campaigns. She enjoyed deep, long-lasting friendships and treasured long conversations with her women friends. She especially enjoyed lunch and shopping at NorthPark Mall.

Shao and Chao's son Glenn is a retired FBI agent living in Arlington, Virginia and their son Kenneth is a professor of electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Chao and Shao have four grandchildren: Charlie, 28; Henry, 25; Emily, 18; and Alex 15.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to UT Southwestern Medical Center, PO Box 910888, Dallas, Texas 75319-0888, or online at www.utsouthwestern.edu/donatenow to support the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.