ShuXian Tai

A Celebration of Life of Tai ShuXian

We mourn the loss of our mother, grandmother and dear friend, Tai ShuXian. We celebrate a life well lived and in her 83 years of life she accomplished a lot.

She had a career as a mechanical engineer which she worked for thirty-one years, retiring in 1996.

She was the wife of her beloved husband, Hong Zhentang, with whom she remained married for over 50, separating only upon his death in 2011. With her husband she raised two children, a girl, Hong Yi, the elder of the kids and a son, Hong Wei. The endured a drastic cultural change in their country and persevered to prosper. While living in Beijing they survived a devastating earth quake that forced the family to live in the street outside their apartment building while repairs were being made. Through a hot summer and a cold winter living in the street in a makeshift shelter she kept her family together, safe and warm and fed. She saw her daughter go to college and become a successful business woman rising to a position of authority in the insurance company where she worked. She saw her son become a soldier and he rose in the ranks to become an officer. The success of her children is a testament to the character and dignity she instilled in them.

Tai ShuXian and Hong Zhentang also accepted an American man as the future husband to their daughter. Although this American and these Chinese people could not speak to each other they were able to communicate anyway. The American man and his Chinese in-laws had a mutual understanding, despite cultural and political differences, they had something in common, a love of their daughter and wife. The American and the Chinese woman were married at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Nederland Texas and the video of the ceremony and the reception afterwards was a cherished possession of Tai ShuXian and Hong Zhentang. It brought them to their beloved daughter’s wedding and made them a part of the celebration despite being a half a world away.

Tai ShuXian came to America not long after her granddaughter, Hong Jiali, came to America to go to school. She loved helping to care of her only granddaughter as she completed three years at Monsignor Kelly High School and four years at Texas Tech University where she graduated with a business degree. The past two years Jiali has been getting her Masters Degree in Hospital Administration at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland and Tai ShuXian was able to see her baby girl graduate just a few short weeks ago. How proud she was even though she was suffering pains from the disease that ultimately took her life.

Tai ShuXian passed from this life in the late hours of Saturday, June 7, 2025. Her life is a testament to how love and caring can sustain a person for an entire lifetime. She leaves behind family and friends, both in China and America, who mourn her loss and will miss her warm smile and caring nature. There is no doubt in my mind that God welcomed this brave and kind soul into heaven and also, there is no doubt in my mind she will prepare a place for those of us who loved her to share her mansion in the sky.

Survivors include her daughter, Yi Hong Sturgis and her husband, Michael, of Port Arthur; son, Hong Wei and his wife, Chen Yu Hong, of Zhuzhou, Hunan, China; and granddaughter, Jiali Hong Sturgis of Port Arthur.

She is preceded in death by her parents and husband, Hong Zhentang.

A gathering of Mrs. Tai’s family and friends will be from 12:00 p.m., until 3:00 p.m., Friday, June 13, 2025, at Broussard’s, 505 North 12^th Street, Nederland. Her cremation arrangements were handled through Broussard’s Crematorium, Beaumont.

邰淑贤女士，居住于德克萨斯州港亚瑟，于2025年6月7日星期六去世。她于1941年7月10日出生于中国辽宁省沈阳市。

邰淑贤女士是一位充满仁爱、优雅知性、总是面带微笑的女性。她热爱旅行与烹饪，尤其擅长包中国传统的饺子。她常以亲手制作的美食，传递对亲友的关怀与温暖。在闲暇时光，她也喜欢观看传统的中国电视剧。

她的家人包括：女儿洪怡（Yi Hong Sturgis）及其丈夫迈克尔（Michael），现居港亚瑟；儿子洪伟（Hong Wei）和儿媳陈玉洪（Chen Yu Hong），现居中国湖南株洲；以及孙女洪佳丽（Jiali Hong Sturgis），现居港亚瑟。

她的父母和丈夫洪振堂（Hong Zhentang）先于她离世。

亲朋好友的悼念聚会将于2025年6月13日星期五中午12点至下午3点，在德州尼德兰市Broussard’s殡仪馆（地址：505 North 12th Street, Nederland）举行。她的火化由Beaumont的Broussard’s火化服务机构负责安排。