Jou Sheng Tchao

OAKLAND, Calif. – On Dec. 14, 2022, Jou Sheng Tchao passed away at his home in Oakland, Calif., surrounded by his three children, following injuries he sustained after a fall while exercising. His exuberance for life, optimism and determination to stay young at heart were an inspiration to many over the arc of his 101 years.

Jou was born in Taisan, China, on May 27, 1921, the eighth of 12 children born to Tchao Pou Yun and Leung Wei Quan. His parents were Chinese merchants who traded in rice and grain exports from Vietnam to China. Jou’s earliest childhood memories were from Hanoi, Vietnam, where his family moved to carry on their business. Jou learned early the importance of education by watching his father, who taught himself French to advance his livelihood in French Indochina. Jou was educated in Vietnam through high school in Chinese, Vietnamese and French schools and became fluent in those languages, as well as English, to complement his native Cantonese tongue.

A polio survivor, Jou knew he wanted to be a doctor by the time he was 14. During WWII when the rest of his family fled north to China to escape the invasion and occupation of Vietnam by the Japanese, Jou risked staying in Hanoi to pursue his pre-medical and medical studies at the University of Indochina. After the war, Jou continued his education at the University of Paris, graduating with a medical degree in 1949. When France declined to issue him, as a foreign national, a medical license (and returning to communist Vietnam or China was not an option), Jou emigrated to America. He was briefly detained at Ellis Island in 1949 before joining his sister in Chicago, Ill. where on a student visa he completed a medical residency in ophthalmology at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary and Cook County Hospital (1950-1952).

In 1953, Jou moved to Maine, one of the few states at the time that granted medical licenses to foreign physicians who did not hold a green card. (He chose Maine over Washington state because he wanted to learn to ski, and for many years afterward skiing took him to both nearby Lost Valley and the Alps.) He settled in the Lewiston-Auburn area, where his fluency in French endeared him to his many Franco-American patients. For several years he was the only eye surgeon on staff at St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, and one of the first in Maine to perform corneal transplant surgery.

Following several unsuccessful attempts to change his immigration status after his student visa expired, a warrant was issued in Maine for Jou’s arrest and deportation. The outpouring of community support for Jou was swift, resulting in a private bill sponsored by Senator Margaret Chase Smith to allow Jou to remain in America legally. On Aug. 2, 1956, Jou was granted the status of permanent resident by a joint resolution of the United States Congress. Later, he became a U.S. citizen.

In 1960, a family friend from Chicago, Ill. introduced Jou to Mabel Tao, who had recently followed her older sister, Olivia, to Chicago from Hong Kong where she had been an instructor in the University of Hong Kong botany department for eight years. Mabel became a research associate in the biochemistry department at the University of Chicago. Jou courted Mabel in Chicago for many months. When she revealed that she too was the eighth child born to her family, Jou knew they were destined to be together for life. They married in Chicago on Dec. 31, 1960.

Jou and Mabel built a rich life together in Maine, starting with the births of their three children, Nadia, Michael and Amy, in the early 1960s. Together, Jou and Mabel formed a formidable team. He was the gregarious yang to her quiet, graceful yin. They shared a passion for gardening around their home on Lake Auburn, and taught their children to swim, sail, ski and skate, among other outdoor activities. Above all else, dedication to family and education was paramount to them. Over the years, Jou and Mabel served as surrogate parents and mentors to countless nieces and nephews from their large extended families, many of whom had come to America to pursue their dreams and a Western education.

Meanwhile, Jou’s eye practice flourished. An extrovert, Jou derived great satisfaction from the relationships he cultivated with thousands of patients and their families over the years. He was also a gifted micro-surgeon who specialized in delicate surgical procedures and pushed himself to master the latest technological advancements in eye surgery. Jou blessed his patients with superb surgical skills and a genuine compassion for their overall well-being. He became an anchor to the Lewiston-Auburn medical community, serving as chief of staff at St. Mary’s Hospital, and as president of the Androscoggin County Medical Association. He was also a proud 30-year member of the Kiwanis Club. His talents were also recognized outside of Maine – he was a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a charter member of the International College of Eye Surgeons.

Beyond his profession as an eye surgeon, Jou had an abiding personal interest in long-term health and longevity. In 1974, together with Bill Gillis, Jou and Mabel started Clover Manor Nursing Home in Auburn, a modern senior living facility which was among the first to introduce assisted living/continuum of care to Maine and opened the first in-house hospice unit (including an AIDS unit) in the state. Jou’s own battle with stomach cancer in his 70s fueled his interest in traditional Chinese medicine and the ancient practice of QiGong. He meditated daily and was a firm believer that these practices – along with a healthy diet and good sleep habits – would bring good health and a long life to all who observed them. Mentally and physically sharp until the very end, Jou spent the last few years devoted largely to the care of his beloved Mabel, who predeceased him by nine months.

When Jou retired, he fulfilled a promise to Mabel to move to a warmer climate. They spent several years in Reno, Nev., and then Oakland, Calif., where for a decade they enjoyed the warm sunshine, access to a larger Chinese population, and proximity to Nadia and Michael, who also lived in the Bay Area. Even after they moved west, Jou and Mabel returned to Maine every summer for many years to live with their youngest daughter, Amy, her husband Roger, and their two granddaughters, Eva and Maisy, who brought them much joy.

Over his 101 years, Jou never lost his insatiable curiosity or zest for life. His agile, adaptive mind and kind heart fueled his enthusiasm for learning and deep enjoyment of people until his final days. He will leave an indelible mark on many.

Jou is survived by a daughter, Nadia, and her partner Christian Hannan, of San Francisco, Calif., a son, Michael, and his husband David Mertens, of San Francisco, Calif., and a daughter, Amy, her husband Roger Clement, and their two daughters, Eva and Mae “Maisy”, of Falmouth.

He was predeceased by his wife of 62 years, Mabel, who passed away on March 17, 2022. As a tribute to her in one of his last adventures on this earth, Jou made one final trip back to Maine in the summer of 2022, accompanied by his children, to scatter Mabel’s ashes in Auburn.

A memorial service will be held in Jou’s honor on Aug. 19 at 2 p.m. at the Portland Mechanics’ Hall, 519 Congress St., Portland.

Memorial contributions

in Jou’s memory can be made to the

Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter,

http://www.alz.org.