John Wei-Hong Huang

John was born on May 26, 1930 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After the war the family migrated to Hong Kong where attended the University of Hong Kong and achieved a degree in engineering. It was during the second year of university that John met the love of his life, Dora. They shared an unconditional love and deep friendship that would endure for 76 years! John completed his undergraduate engineering degree and continued on to post graduate studies in “pre-stressed concrete” earning a Master’s degree. On graduation, he joined the engineering firm of S.E Faber. His contract with the company was for three years during which Mr. Faber would sponsor him to take the necessary examinations of the Institute of Civil Engineers in England to be professionally qualified in Hong Kong. After five years of courtship, John and Dora were joined in holy matrimony on February 12, 1954, at St. Theresa’s Church and welcomed their first child, Joan, in November, 1954. In 1955 John took his professional engineering exam, with hundreds of apprentice engineers worldwide. True to form he scored the highest marks! He was awarded the much-coveted Bayliss Prize with a monitory award of twenty British pounds (about $1000 USD today). This award proved invaluable and helped John in his future career. When John had completed his three-year contract at S.E. Faber, he sought other opportunities. He was successful in landing a position with Public Water Works (PWW) from a field of over 100 applicants. He worked initially in the Sewage Department starting in 1956 and was able to purchase his first car! In the following years, he would go on to more demanding projects and responsibilities in the PWW. In 1957 a second daughter arrived, christened May, followed by a third daughter, Eleanor, in 1958, and their last child, Thomas, was born in 1960. All of the children were cherished by their loving parents. With the uncertainties and unrest that fomented in Hong Kong during the mid-1960’s John and Dora migrated to Toronto, Canada in 1967, where John joined a large engineering firm called Resources Engineering of Canada. John’s work took him to many locations around the world and he quickly became the firm’s water resource expert. In 1973 John joined the World Bank with as a Lecturer at the Economic Development Institute (EDI), a department of the World Bank, and a College of Learning specializing in development economics for senior officials of member countries of the Bank. The family moved to Alexandria, Virginia in the summer of that year after the children completed their final school term. A new episode in the lives of John, Dora and the family had begun. As a lecturer, John developed seminars to educate the people of developing countries to help their countries grow and prosper. His first business travel with the World Bank was in the August of 1973 to Nigeria, West Africa, where four large loans from the World Bank were being considered. The country requested training of its officials who would oversee the various projects in order that they could prepare these projects to meet the requirements of the World Bank. Three courses were conducted over a period of ten weeks. With the limited facilities in Washington D.C., EDI started to experiment with offering the training courses in the trainee’s own country. He lectured in about half the sessions of the course. For the other sessions, John invited speakers from the World Bank and well-known local professors. There were about thirty participants, mostly engineers. They were officials responsible for the various public utilities in their country. John was so well liked that he was asked to lecture in several special topics. This gave John the confidence to start a successful and rewarding new career in teaching. In the meantime, he learned more about the people, the culture and the needs of Nigeria. Over the next 30+ years John delivered education and ran projects in many other exotic places around the world. These included Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan, Japan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Barbados, Morocco, Bangladesh, and China. The work in China spanned decades and included some very large operational projects. To say he affected the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people is not an understatement. In his quiet, thoughtful and dedicated way, he used his talents to help others. After their youngest child left for college, John took the opportunity to have Dora join him on missions. They travelled to many lovely and exotic places including Egypt, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, France, and finally, China. John’s work in China was the capstone of a very successful career. In 1992, at the young age of sixty-two, John retired from the World Bank. He and Dora visited parts of the world that they had not been before, this time as tourists. John would embark on the study of Chinese history; a project which he estimated would take him four years. Dora would concentrate on Chinese brush painting, an art that she had already started to learn twenty years ago. They could also devote more time to social activities with old and new friends and to participate in volunteer work and church worship. John always loved music. He sang in the church choir and started a choir group at the senior center that grew their repertoire to cover over 150 musical pieces. Several times a year the group would give concerts at senior homes and other senior centers. They became quite well known in their neighborhood. Dora was an ever-present partner and avid supporter in this endeavor, of which both were very proud. As John’s health declined, the family visited Washington D.C. more frequently, especially in 2024 and 2025. In February and March 2025 John was hospitalized, going into critical care with congestive heart failure in late March. He came home to hospice care on March 25, 2025. On Saturday morning, March 29, 2025, in Alexandria VA, John Wei-Hong Huang passed peacefully at home in hospice surrounded by his family. In his 95th year, he leaves behind a rich and lasting legacy, his beloved wife and faithful companion of 76 years, Dora, four loving children, Joan, May, Eleanor, and Thomas, six caring grandchildren, Emily, Micah, Aaron, Chris, Dom, and Jen, and two adorable great grandchildren, Ethan and Emma. Bill, Joel, Andy and Evelyn, the spouses of the four children respectively, as well as Grace, Micah’s wife and Onon, Chris’s wife, morn John’s passing as well. John had a peaceful end to a rich and fruitful life on a warm sunny Spring Day that he would have enjoyed, sitting in the kitchen of his home, looking out over his back garden. His was a life well lived, full in his contributions to society, humanity, church, and most of all, his family. John was a devoted and caring husband and father, loyal and dutiful son, and supportive and caring brother. John has earned his rich reward in heaven. He will be missed and long remembered. You may view the link to live streaming Mass to take place at St. Louis Catholic Church, at 11:30 am, Friday, April 4, 2025, here. [https://boxcast.tv/view/funeral-mass-of-john-huang-o6ti1cdp0aoenbigvoma]

Tributes

John Wei-Hong Huang

May 26, 1930 - March 29, 2025