At 1:30 p.m., November 20, 2010, Grandma Qianmei Luo passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family in Pudong, Shanghai, China. She was 102.
On January 14, 1909, Grandma Luo was born to a family of 6 Children. She married young. Soon after the marriage, her husband died of illness, leaving behind the young widow, new son and eldly parents. To survive, Grandma Luo married a widower, Ruxing Tian who lost his wife in chindbirth and left him a 3-year-old daughter.
With the mutual efforts exerted by the couple, and later by their children, the family has survived both WWII and Chinese Civil War, political turmoil, and various hardships. They remain a closely-knit and harmonious unit.
Grandma Luo was the key figure behind such a miracle. Like many traditional Chinese women, She never went out to work after marriage, because of her husband's ample salary. With total dedication to her family, she farmed, cooked, cleaned, took care of eldly in-laws, and raised many children and grandchildren. No matter how hard the time were, she and her husband kept their promise not to sell any family land, until after 1949 when all land seized by the government. Despite her husband's reduced income as a result of his long illness, she was able to put food on the table and provide two daughters with good education. Her home was tidy and clean, and she was widely known for her beautiful triangle Zongzi (sticky rice wrapped up in reed leaves).
Grandma Luo was wise in her simple life philosophy. Her motto was to learn to be young when one grew old. She gracefully eased into living arrangements with her children, and spent her last 3 years in a nursing home. Her innocent nature and sincere smile charmed nurses and roommates alike. After the age of 100, much of her white hair turned black. She remained active until the last two months of her life, when she suffered from a fall.
Grandma Luo was proceded in death by her husband Ruixing Tian in 1972 and son-in-law Rushan Huang in 2001. She is survived by her 4 Children: Chunming Luo and wife Rongxian Yao, Rongdi Tian and husband Youxin Ma, Xingdi Tian and husband Yonmin Song of Shanghai, and Jindi Tian of New York and by her 10 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.
A grand funeral was held on the afternoon of November 22, 2010 in Shanghai, China.