Obituaries

Yumei Liu (11/29/1945 - 11/28/2020) passed away in her sleep in her home in San Ramon, California during the early morning hours on November 28, 2020. Her husband, Jiwen, was by her side.

Yumei was born in Ha Er Bin, Hei Long Jiang, China to father Jishun Liu and mother Guixin Xu. Yumei was the oldest of five children and the only daughter. With her father working outside of the home to support the family and her mother busy taking care of both of her grandmothers, Yumei cared for her younger brothers from a young age. Her brothers' deep love and affection for her never waned as Yumei left home to go to Beijing to attend university, nor after she moved her family to the United States while her brothers remained in China.

Yumei had been a hard worker and an outstanding student and engineer throughout her life. Strong willed, she did not give in to the traditional Chinese belief that girls will take care of the house thus do not need any formal education. With her father's support, she worked hard and was lucky enough to graduate high school and attend Qinghua University, the elite engineering university in China prior to the Cultural Revolution disrupted higher education in China for many years.

Yumei was one of few female students in Qinghua University, class of 1970. Through her participation as a member of the Speed Skating Team and working in the farms that was typical of university life during the 1960s in China, Yumei forged friendships that would last for the rest of her life. She also met her future husband, Jiwen Qiu, during this dynamic time of the country. Together, they raised their daughter and cared for Jiwen's mother until they left China.

Upon graduating, Yumei remained on the teaching staff in the university. As a Civil Engineer, her designs had won national awards. Seeing the trend of technological advances, Yumei later transferred to the Center of Computer Science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to begin her career as a computer scientist and work side by side with her husband. After spending two years at University of Maryland in the early 1980s, Yumei and Jiwen lead their team to create an award winning database system that was at the forefront of China's budding computer software development. Yumei furthered her computer science studies in what was West Germany at the time for a year and a half before joining Jiwen in Gainesville, Florida in 1990. They moved to northern California the following year as Yumei obtained an offer as a software engineer for Sybase. She worked at Sybase for 17 years and retired due to an illness that had severely affected her health.

Yumei was a strong and caring wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend. Everywhere she goes, she became confidant and advisor to her peers. Being a curious person, Yumei had many interests outside her work. She enjoyed traveling and photography. She enjoyed cooking and good food. Prior to falling ill, Yumei had often held large dinner parties at her home as she made many delightful dishes. Even in her later years, she enjoyed hosting friends and their children from out of town, welcoming them into her home for tea, dinner, or spending extended stays. She was loved and respected by many.

Yumei is survived by: Husband Jiwen Qiu, Daughter Xinlei Qiu, Grandsons Yuxuan Huang and Yubin Qiu, as well as her brothers: Qishan Liu, Yongli Liu, Yongdou Liu, Yongsheng Liu.

A Visitation will be held Monday, December 7, 2020 at 12:30 PM with a Chapel Service at 1:00 PM, Fremont Chapel of the Roses, 1940 Peralta Boulevard, Fremont.