Mengqu Zhang, a loving husband, father and grandfather, passed away on January 3, 2018 at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, CA at the age of 82.

He was born on January 7, 1935 in Shanghai, China, as one of 12 children of Quiyuan Zhang (father) and Shoushan Cai (mother). He attended Mingde middle school and Nanguang high school. He joined the air force at the age of 16 and became a technical instructor in Changchun, over 1200 miles away from Shanghai. He received a college degree in Physics through a self-study program while in the air force.

He married Ying Hu on April 6, 1959, whom he had known since high school. During the first 10 years of their marriage, he continued to serve in the air force at Changchun while Ying raised their two daughters, Jian and Xin, in Shanghai. His son, Hailing, was born two years after he retired from the air force in 1969 and returned to Shanghai as a manager in the Shanghai Communication Electronics Company. He also worked as a vocational school instructor until his retirement in 1995.

With all three children in the US and Canada, Mengqu and Ying travelled frequently to help raise their grandchildren. Finally, in 2006, they immigrated to the US. They spent several years in Texas, and then settled in Berkeley, CA in 2012 after Mengqu became a naturalized citizen.

Mengqu was a hard worker who loved learning and was a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather. He will be missed dearly by his wife, 3 children, and 7 grandchildren.

The funeral service will be held at the Sunset View Cemetery and Mortuary (101 Colusa Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530) at 11:00 am on Sunday, January 21, 2018.