Help Support Professor Heng Wu’s Family After Sudden Loss

Dear friends, colleagues, students, and kind-hearted supporters,

My name is Gloria. I’m organizing this GoFundMe on behalf of my dear friend Susan Xie, whose beloved husband, Professor Heng Wu, tragically and unexpectedly passed away during a family trip on July 17, 2025. Professor Wu was a beloved educator, a devoted father and husband, and an extraordinary human being. He leaves behind Susan and his 12-year-old child.

Susan speaks limited English and works part-time at a local preschool and restaurant. She is now facing unimaginable grief while also trying to cover funeral costs and living expenses. Below is a message from Susan, translated from Chinese with her permission:

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My name is Susan, three weeks ago, my beloved husband, Heng Wu, passed away unexpectedly. He was not only the backbone of our family but also a gentle, humble, hardworking, and kind man who devoted his entire life to learning, research, and teaching.

In the United States, we had no other family. For many years, we relied on each other completely - he was my closest companion, my unwavering support. His sudden passing has left me not only heartbroken but also without our family’s primary source of income and health insurance. The weight of life’s pressures has fallen on my shoulders, but I am determined to stay strong and keep our home for him.

A Life of Determination and Service

Heng’s journey was one of relentless perseverance. Born into a poor rural family in China, he graduated from high school and - despite family expectations to start working - chose to teach at a small village elementary school.

He loved teaching, but he dreamed of more. While working, he studied on his own, often sending most of his salary back home and sometimes eating just one meal a day so he could afford books.

Years of hard work paid off - he was admitted to a top graduate program in China. At 35, he earned the opportunity to come to the United States as a visiting scholar, and during that time, he completed a second Ph.D. in Computer Science. His path was full of obstacles, doubt, and loneliness, but he never gave up.

Dedicated Teacher, Visionary Mentor

He deeply cared for his students - helping them publish research papers, connecting them with internships, and dreaming of one day starting a company with them. Just a day before his passing, he had received good news about a patent application. On the day he died, he was still leading a virtual meeting with his research group. Three days later, he had planned to take his students to an academic conference in Las Vegas.

A Loving Husband

Though we lived apart this past year due to work, he called me every day. We were planning to reunite next spring. He often talked about wanting to eat meals together again, take walks, and grow old side by side. We would watch elderly couples on the street and say, “That will be us one day.”

Now, I will never see him grow old.

The morning he passed, we had taken a walk by the ocean. He told me about an elderly alumnus, living in financial hardship, whose dream was to visit Yellowstone National Park. Heng asked if we could drive him there during fall break to save him airfare. I agreed - because I knew his heart. But he never got the chance to keep that promise.

His colleagues have told me that if not for this tragedy, he had been arranging for me to pursue an MBA at a business school - always thinking of my future. He knew what it was like to walk in the rain, and he always wanted to hold an umbrella for others.

Why I Am Asking for Help

Now, I am facing urgent and overwhelming expenses alone - emergency medical bills, funeral costs, the transportation of his ashes (still not yet home), daily living expenses, loss of health coverage, and the cost of surviving until I can secure stable income.

Here in a foreign country, without family, and with limited English, I am doing my best to manage everything by myself.

If you knew him, were helped by him, or were touched by his story, I humbly ask you to consider helping in any way you can.

Every contribution is not only a practical help to our family but also a way of honoring his memory and the kindness he lived by.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Susan