- Date Of Birth: August 15, 1939
- Date Of Death: January 14, 2022
- State: Florida
Lydia Ou Yeh, 82, a leader of the Chinese-American community in Miami, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, January 14, surrounded by her family.
Lydia Ou Yeh was born in 1939 in Canton, China, to father Ou Jian, a 3-star army general, and mother Liang Meng Juh, an obstetrician/gynecologist, who bore and raised 8 children. In 1949 after the Chinese civil war, her family fled to Taiwan where she and her 7 siblings were raised alone by her mother who was widowed shortly thereafter. She finished her studies in Taiwan where she received her nursing degree, before fearlessly moving alone to the US in 1961. She first met her physician husband Billy in Oklahoma, and both later re-connected in NYC, where they married in 1965. After working as an RN in NYC (where Elizabeth was born) and Atlanta (where Brian was born), in 1969 they finally settled in Miami (where William was born) where they have lived ever since. Inspired by her participation in local charity Theater Arts League, and encouraged by the Foreign Minister of the Republic of China, in 1989 she founded the Chinese Women’s Club of Greater Miami to unite the Chinese-American community in South Florida, promote Chinese cultural activities, and provide educational scholarships to students in need. She was recognized and honored by the US Congress in 2010 for her work with The Cultural and Educational Scholarship Foundation of the Chinese Women’s Club of Greater Miami.
She will always be remembered for her vibrant, joyful, and loving personality which she shared with family and friends alike.
She is survived by her husband Billy, sons Brian and William, daughter-in-law Jane, grandchildren Sabrina, William, Maya and Andersen, sisters Lorna & Looley, and brother Eric.
