Modest. Courageous. Adventurous. Loyal. Kind.

These were just a few of the many attributes of Gary Cheng- beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, uncle, and friend. At age 70, Gary passed away peacefully after a valiant battle against cancer.  And, as he'd wished, he lived out his last days in his own home surrounded by his loving family
On a cold winter's day in 1947, February 24 ^th , Gary Cheng was born to parents  (father) Cheng Shi Jie and (mother) Cheng Wang Fang in Nanjing, China.  He was the only son in a brood of six children, so as you can imagine, he was clearly adored by his five sisters and parents.  Gary's family was one that was strong and tight-knit.  The family immigrated to Taiwan when Gary was two years old.

This was when Gary spent a happy boyhood in the city of Taipei. He displayed a fun loving and adventurous streak as climbed up walls and into trees without a care in the world. When the youngster wasn't scrambling up walls and branches, he could be found on the courts shooting hoops, playing basketball.

Growing up with wonderful values in a doting family, Gary's parents encouraged him to excel in education and to always use his talents and gifts to contribute to society. He developed a strong spirit of honesty, modesty and kindness that he would extend to others his entire life.

Early in his childhood, Gary discovered he was quite adept in academics, particularly in math and sciences. Hence, he attended and graduated from Taipei's National Chiao Tung University's Department of Electronic Engineering, and from there, his career quickly took off.

Gary started as an engineer at General Instruments in Taiwan where he met and married Caroline Tsuei in 1973. Their daughter, Jean, was born the next year while Gary was working overseas in Belgium. He and Caroline communicated through letters during this time, and Gary didn't get to meet his daughter until she was nearly one year old; their second daughter, Fawn, was born few years later.

The young family immigrated to the Bay Area in 1981 where Gary and Caroline made their home for the last 36 years. In 1986, he partook in the Silicon Valley dream of starting his own company, and founded Destiny Technology Group.  Gary embarked upon a second startup in 1996 by establishing VenGlobal Capital, becoming one of the early Chinese-American venture capitalists in the country. Because of his wealth of technological know-how, many successful start-up companies sought out his counsel. Gary was passionate about technology; genuinely thrilled by the process of exchanging knowledge and expertise.

He treasured the vast number of professional and personal friendships he made during his years as a student, engineer, manager, executive and venture capitalist. He was a connector of people and made everyone love him with his grace, dry sense of humor and tenacity.

After retiring, he and Caroline traveled worldwide to places like Eastern Europe, Russia, China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan, and world-renowned scenic destinations such as Switzerland and Banff, Canada. No matter where he traveled far or near, Gary always looked forward to trying out a new cuisine or restaurant. His camera was filled with numerous photos of his culinary adventures.

He, along with Caroline, kept an active social calendar filled with parties, lunches/dinner gatherings, and many engagements with friends and family. Gary was also active in golf, hiking, swimming, photography, tracking NBA basketball, watching business/world news, playing the piano (a newly acquired skill after his cancer diagnosis) and spending time with his growing family.

His grandchildren Rosalind (6), Owen (2) and Abigail (2) brought him great joy throughout these last years. Gary looked forward to picking up his oldest grandchild, Rosie, from preschool. And with both of his daughters and their families living only five minutes away, every Tuesday and Thursday night became a large family dinner tradition in his home for the last few years.

A few years ago, Gary's passion to help Taiwan become a better country, along with a sense of leaving a worthy legacy resulted in his involvement in Chengzhi Education Foundation. The foundation focuses on providing access to free, top-notch online educational curriculum to K-12 children in underserved communities of Taiwan. Even in Gary's frail state in the final weeks of his life, he took every opportunity to share this last mission with his visitors and connect those who may be instrumental in working with the foundation to help these children secure a better future.

In reflecting on his life, we can agree that Gary did fulfill the wishes of his parents and more. He excelled in his studies and achieved a stellar career. He excelled in contributing to society through mentoring young entrepreneurs and encouraging those who crossed his path. He felt blessed by his family and life. He was content, at peace and had no complaints. But most importantly, the little boy who climbed walls and trees, excelled as a humble and kind human being with qualities that will be forever remembered.

Gary is survived by his wife of 43 years; his daughters, Jean (Brion) of Cupertino, CA, and Fawn (Michael) of San Jose, CA; his grandchildren; his five sisters; many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the Cheng family would like to request all money be donated to Chengzhi Education Foundation 誠致教育基金會 www.junyiacademy.org in memory of Gary Cheng, Youwei. For information on how to make donation, please contact: Jean Cheng jeangcheng@gmail.com .