Chin Li Obituary

Chin Hsiang Li passed away in San Jose, California on August 27, 2024 after a brief illness. His final days were spent surrounded by his wife, daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. He was very grateful to have his whole family gather together before his passing.
Chin was born on March 10, 1951 in Taipei, Taiwan to Po-Nan Lee and Pei-Hsia Lee as the third of five children. He received a bachelor's degree in biology from Tunghai University before emigrating to the United States in 1976. He received advanced degrees in computer science from the University of Houston (MS) and Ohio State University (PhD). He relocated to San Jose in 1985, where he began a long and rewarding career at IBM Silicon Valley Lab (a.k.a. Santa Teresa Lab), working on projects such as VS FORTRAN, Digital Library, and Content Manager. Later in his career, he was delighted to join the UC Santa Cruz Genome Browser team. This experience combined his interests in biology and computer science, in the higher education environment that he always loved. He enjoyed spending many lunch breaks walking through the redwood forests on campus.
Chin had a variety of hobbies and passions in his personal life, including tech gadgets, opera and classical music, choir singing, polka dancing, pinball, classic arcade games, marine biology, volunteering, airplanes, and Snoopy. He was an expert bargain hunter and avid urban explorer, enjoying opportunities to take public transit to find interesting sights, unique shops, and good restaurants and bakeries. Chin was also a lifetime learner, eager to expand his knowledge in new subjects; in retirement, he was happy to have free time to study mathematics and learn Japanese. Above all, he loved spending quality time with family and friends, especially the precious moments shared with his grandchildren.
Chin is survived by his beloved family: his wife of 42 years, Judy; his daughters Crystal (Kyle) and Elaine (Tim); and his grandchildren Vera, Seth, Tilly, and Poppy. At his request, no service will be held. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages a donation be made in his honor to the Monterey Bay Aquarium–where he was an enthusiastic and longtime member–or to your favorite charity.