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Herbert Yuan Shing Chu October 28, 2020 Obituary Herbert Yuan Shing Chu, 94, of Pompton Plains, NJ and Garden City, NY, passed away October 28, 2020. Herb was born in Shanghai, China, the only child of a successful textile merchant and a homemaker. After obtaining a degree in civil engineering from Ta Tung University in Shanghai, he came to the US on the last passenger boat sailing from Shanghai to San Francisco-- the S.S. Meigs. On a beautiful sunny day in August 1948 at age 22, he sadly said goodbye to his beloved parents and left China full of hope and enthusiasm for America, not knowing that he would never see his mother alive again and only see his father on his death bed when he was finally allowed to go back to China in 1976 after President Nixon resumed diplomatic relations with China. After 31 days at sea, Herb arrived in San Francisco and started his graduate studies at the University of Illinois on September 9, 1948. In June 1949 he received a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois. Although he finished all his coursework for a PhD, he did not complete his dissertation but decided to begin working as an engineer in Michigan instead. In 1952 he came to New York City and started as a Design Structural Engineer in the consulting firm of Ammann & Whitney. There, he helped to design and build three suspension bridges: the Walt Whitman Bridge in Pennsylvania with center span length of 2000 ft; Throgs Neck Bridge in New York City with the same 2000 ft center span; and the world’s longest bridge at that time, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island with a center span of 4260 ft, which is 60ft longer than the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Herb’s dreams were largely realized with the completion of these monumental structures, which he thought would serve the public for centuries to come. One of his happiest and proudest moments was when he became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America on January 9, 1952. In 1967, he joined the Engineering Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as a Structural Engineer and helped design Newark International Airport. At the time of his retirement in 1996, after over 29 years of civil service, he was Assistant Chief Structural Engineer responsible for the work assignments of over 120 engineering staff and involved in every project for all Port Authority facilities. Herb loved Chinese Peking Opera and was a performer/singer with the amateur opera club, Ya-Ji. His love of food was legendary and he was an accomplished home cook. He and his wife, Mary, traveled the world and were fortunate to eat in many of the finest restaurants internationally and in the US. Herb was a man of great faith, unwavering moral character, and fierce integrity who was loved and admired by all. He is survived by his beloved wife of 66 years, Mary, their three loving children (Genevieve, Thomas and Stephen) and their spouses (Chris, Lynn and Jocelyn, respectively), brother-in-law, William Kao, nine amazing grandchildren (Melissa, Stephanie, Evan, Isobel, Jared, Katy, Lindsay, Derren and Thomas), and three wonderful nephews (Alex, Eric and Steven) and their families. He also leaves behind many friends from Cedar Crest, the Ya-Ji Peking Opera Club, Garden City and his devoted care giver, Oksana. Herb always felt and often said, “America is a land of plenty and of endless opportunities for us immigrants who are willing to work hard and make contributions to this great nation. I feel grateful to live in this democratic country where people of all races and creeds can work and live side by side.” Due to Covid, there will be no wake or service. Herb will be entombed at Somerset Hills Memorial Park in Basking Ridge, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to his alma mater using this link: https://cee.illinois.edu/give , or via mail to: The University of Illinois Foundation, PO Box 734500, Chicago, IL 60673-4500 (Please add a note designating the gift for the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in memory of Herbert Y. Chu)
M. John Scanlan Funeral Home
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