John Cheng

John is survived by his wife Emily, his son Ray, his daughter and son-in-law Alice and Matt Zimmerman, and his grandson and granddaughter Isaac Cheng and Elena Zimmerman.

John had a larger than life personality and was very well-liked by everyone who knew him, including his family, friends, work colleagues, and the broader community. He lit up the room with his joyous demeanor, laughter and sense of humor, and his old and new friendships with others brought him great joy.

John was born in Taiwan. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Biology at Fu-Jen Catholic University, and there he met and eventually married his love Emily. John came to Hawaii and received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Hawaii, and then completed his post-doctoral research at UCSF Medical Center. He then worked briefly as an assistant professor at the Creighton University School of Medicine. In 1984, John, his wife Emily, and their two children Ray and Alice moved to Connecticut, where John began his 34-plus year career as a research scientist at Pfizer Central Research in Groton.

John was truly dedicated to and passionate about his work in drug discovery at Pfizer. John quickly rose up the ranks at the company, eventually becoming a Research Fellow, and received numerous accolades along the way, including the Pfizer Central Research Achievement award. John would be one of the first ones into and one of the last ones to leave the office every single day. Over the course of John’s three-and-a-half decade career, John worked in a number of groups at Pfizer, including the Allergy and Respiratory (A&R), Inflammation, and Biomarkers groups.

In addition, John was a great family man at his core – a devoted husband, selfless parent, and a loving grandfather. John and Emily had a wonderful and long-lasting marriage that spanned over 48 years. He loved his children deeply and instilled important life lessons in them, always with a positive attitude. His patience, positivity and sense of humor around the house was infectious. John enjoyed the simple pleasures in life. After his retirement, John could frequently be found exercising, swimming, walking, or Facetiming his two beloved grandchildren. He continued to maintain a level of scientific and intellectual curiosity about everything, including reading about world news and politics, investing, or handling his taxes. He thoroughly enjoyed being around friends, whether that be striking up a lively debate or simply sharing a laugh, and in John’s case the feeling was always undoubtedly mutual.

Calling hours for John Cheng will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday, February 11 at Fulton-Theroux Funeral Home at 13 Lake Ave in Niantic. The first half hour (10 to 10:30 a.m.) will be reserved for elderly people in attendance. A memorial/prayer service will be held for him at Norwich Alliance Church / Norwich Chinese Christian Church (NCCC) at 35 Wawecus Hill Road in Norwich from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Please visit www.fultontherouxniantic.com for photos, tributes and directions.