Anna Wu

When Anna Wu walked into the room, those in her company felt energy, an enthusiastic spontaneity. This was just one example of who Anna was and how she impressed those around her. Anna was an intelligent and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if Anna wanted to share all of their experiences, revel in their lives and celebrate their discoveries. Anna was tireless and had boundless enthusiasm that would serve her well throughout her life.

Anna was born on September 25, 1942 in Canton, China. She was the daughter of Hsiao Chu and Hui Ju Lin. Anna was raised in Mainland China and Taiwan. Always at the ready with a good joke, she grew up to be quite a humorous person. While some who knew Anna might describe her as an idealist, her friends and family understood well that Anna was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities available to her.

Anna was raised with four siblings. She had three sisters, Anne, Cathy, and Angel, and one brother, Henry. Anna was very accepting and supportive of her family. She was perceived as the central person in her family in terms of keeping communication open between the family members. Whenever discord or tension arose within the home, Anna was typically the member who brought about resolution and harmony. Anna was always the calm in the eye of the storm. These traits served Anna well in her adult life and, along with her wit, outgoing personality, and understanding of others, drew the admiration of many who knew her.

As a young girl, Anna was able to empathize and identify with a vast array of people and personality types. This quality drew her into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. Anna had little trouble getting along with her peers. She was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities. Among the organizations that Anna participated in as a child was the Girl Scouts. Anna had the ability to find amusement with almost any activity she and the many childhood friends she shared might discover. She graduated from Chien-Chin Primary School in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1954.

During her high school years, Anna responded enthusiastically to any new project and was regularly in search of one adventure after another. She graduated from Kaohsiung Girls' High School in 1960. Anna was a very good student, did well in her courses and beloved by teachers. Anna absorbed as much as she could from all of her teachers and was consistently able to tackle conceptual and abstract problems, using her imagination to master her assignments. For Anna, school often became just an extension of playtime, thanks to her ability to turn just about anything into a game. Classmates considered Anna a good listener, knowing that when necessary, they could go to her to discuss just about anything. She excelled in languages including Chinese and English. Her extracurricular activities included performing drama on stage.

Anna did well in college, as a result of her boundless enthusiasm for tackling new theories and her love of learning. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from National Taiwan University in 1964. She also pursued graduate school, earning her Masters of Arts degrees in economics from the University of Southern Mississippi. She studied easily and remained a top student in her classes. While in college in Taiwan, she joined troupes and visited soldiers stationing in offshore islands. Anna was very adaptable, a quality that helped her make the transition from high school to college with little difficulty. Anna enjoyed company and people around her. Her easy-going, friendly and sincere manner, plus the charming and beautiful smiles won her many friends, men and ladies alike. She was the “sweetheart” among her classmates and coworkers. Even when she was sick and stayed in the hospital, she easily connected with doctors and nurses who became fond of her and considered her someone special. A doctor wrote in her medical record:

“You have been an absolute pleasure to visit with & care for – I will miss you. You warmed my heart…”

Another ER doctor visited Anna in the hospital with beautiful roses brought from her own garden.

Anna was the eldest in the family of five children. She was very close to her family and helped bring up her younger brother and sisters. After moving to the US and became a citizen, she applied for and helped the rest of her family immigrate to this country. She loved children, cared about them, and was the favorite aunt of her nephews and nieces.

On November 16, 1968 Anna married Leo Hung-San Wu at the United Nations Chapel in New York City, New York. Anna's skill at “building bridges” played an important role in her ability to make her new family happy. She was quite sensitive towards Leo's needs, showing her constant concern and fondness. Anna was tenderhearted and sensitive, qualities that served her well in helping to nurture her family.

Anna was a natural and creative parent who was willing to provide her family with all sorts of new and interesting experiences. For Anna, parenting was a particularly enjoyable and pleasurable part of her life. Every activity, from chores to bedtime routines, became a game in the Wu home. Anna's skill at understanding her children's feelings, her sensitivity to their needs, and her gift for gentle persuasion enabled her to find novel solutions to any problem or situation that might crop up. Anna was blessed with two children: one son, Kevin, and one daughter, Glenda.

Anna was uplifted by new ideas and was excited by life’s possibilities, traits that made her an exceptional worker. After graduating from University of Southern Mississippi, she moved New York City in 1968 and started to work for Equitable Life in the actuary area. After getting married, she worked for General Foods in White Plains and performed market research studies. Her work brought her computer programming knowledge and skills.

After giving birth to Glenda in 1971, Anna decided to stay home to take care of her and later on also Kevin. In 1976 the family moved to San Jose, California. She resumed her professional work in 1980 when the children were older. Her work started to be affiliated with the aviation industry. She joined Singer Corporation as a software engineer in support of flight simulation. In January 1982 she joined Jeppesen Dataplan (now a Boeing Company) and provided software support for flight planning. She remained in Jeppesen for almost 27 years until her retirement as a senior software engineer in September, 2008.

Anna was enterprising, inventive and working against deadlines seemed to energize her. Anna had the uncanny ability to identify a win/win solution to just about any problem, possibly because of her gift for insight. Anna's fellow workers saw her as a supporter and a mentor.

Because Anna loved to have a broad variety of activities in her life, she took advantage of the opportunity to pursue numerous hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were traveling, spectator sports, and shopping. She and her husband Leo also enjoyed watching Korean soap operas at their spare time. Anna had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of her favorite pastimes. However, Anna's ever-present concern for others always took precedent.

Anna derived much satisfaction from participating in and watching sports. Her charisma, supportive nature and ability to improvise when called upon to do so all made perfect attributes for enjoying a great many sporting activities. In her college years, Anna stayed active by running track. Recreational sports included ballroom dancing, and she took private lessons with her husband Leo for a number of years. Anna was an avid sports fan and enjoyed watching her favorite events whenever she got the opportunity. Tops on her list were professional tennis, football, and basketball.

Because Anna was constantly in the center of things and where the action was, she always seemed willing to join in and help, regularly getting involved in community activities. Anna's gift of planning and improvisation, along with a talent for rallying support, made her a great asset. Anna found new ways of getting things done in order to help make just about every activity more efficient and enjoyable. Anna served as a volunteer teacher in San Jose Chinese School and taught for a number of years. Many of her students are accomplished adults today.

Anna was a woman who was dedicated and devoted to her faith. She was a member of the Christian faith since she was a child. She was sympathetic and able to empathize with others and she used these qualities to the fullest while working tirelessly for her beliefs.

Though she never did anything solely for individual recognition, Anna's ingenuity, resourcefulness, and selflessness, earned her accolades for her many lifelong efforts. Some of her most prestigious awards included Exceptional Performance Awards that were won while she was working at Jeppesen.

Anna's love of improvising in her daily life was a perfect fit for her enjoyment of traveling. She was excited about seeing changing scenery and constantly looking for the enjoyment life could offer. Traveling in a casual manner fitted her personality well. Among all the places she visited, perhaps due to a natural affinity to her own culture, she particularly enjoyed her multiple trips to various parts of China. She also enjoyed going back to Taiwan and revisiting with many of her former classmates and friends.

When Anna's retirement finally came in 2008, Anna handled it the way she usually did. She adapted and, like everything in her life, made it satisfying. In retirement, she focused in traveling and continued to stay in touch with her old friends and like always, made plenty of new ones.

Anna Wu passed away on March 26, 2012 at home in San Jose, California. She fought a brave battle against lung cancer. She is survived by her husband Leo, her children Glenda and Kevin, and her brother Henry, sisters Anne, Cathy and Angel, and her mother Hui Ju Lin. A service was held at Oak Hill Funeral Home in San Jose, and she was laid to rest in Los Gatos Memorial Park in Los Gatos, California.

Anna Wu was a beautiful person.