From Ms Forrest Latta, the ICS Director of USA, I learned that John Wang had passed away on 25th May 2024. She said in her mail:
Dear Friends,
I have lost John Wang. He was 84. John gave us many wonderful camellia cultivars and was a bridge between the U.S. and China. His job was working as a quality control specialist for the dairy milk industry. He met his future wife on a flight from Taiwan while immigrating to the United States. She was immigrating too. They were married 57 years and had three grown kids. John was a happy fellow to be around.
Forrest Latta
ICS Director USA
John help China to set up the first Camellia Breeding Group in 2006 in Shanghai of China including many friends from Taiwan as well. John had bred and registered many camellia cultivars (more than 33 cultivars), many of which had been registered in USA and in China, like ‘Longhuozhu', 'Shengjie', 'Miaojie'...
Camellia Friends in China were shocked to learn of John's death and sent messages of condolences and photos reminiscing about his good times in China. Mr. Yang Shouchun, former president of Chinese Camellia Society, and former director of ICS, sent message: "I was saddened to hear the news of Mr. Wang Ta-chuang's passing, he is a good person, an expert, he is enthusiastic, sincere, pragmatic, sunny... The past is in the past, and the sound is in... (I remember that back then, he also asked me to write "Heaven, Earth and Man" through Mr. You Muxian, and sent me the photos framed on the wall...) There is also a dialogue between the personality of the camellia named and Mr. You's daughter... My Old friend, Ta-chuang has gone all the way, and I hope that he will be happy and sound in the spirit of heaven". Ms. Zhou Li from Chongqing Nanshan Botanical Garden sent message: "I was deeply saddened to see this news. In December 2017, when my husband and I went to Los Angeles, United States, we made a special trip to visit Mr. Wang Ta-chuang, visited his family's breeding site and achievements, and also received his careful guidance". Prof. Gao Jiyin also sent his message:"Mr. Wang Ta-chuang unfortunately passed away, deeply saddened, and hope that he will go all the way. In fact, I first met Mr. Wang in 1993, when I worked for a year at Green Shower in Los Angeles, California, United States. During this period, with the help of Shao Taizong, I visited Ya-chuang's house. I have seen his camellia breeding, and I have also visited Mr. Hulston, a celebrity in the United States camellia industry. Later, after Mr. Hulston's death, he took over all the breeding materials of Huliston's aromatic camellia cultivars and began his fruitful breeding work on aromatic camellias. Later, he gave me a number of new cultivars that he had personally crossed, and they are still preserved in the Shanghai Camellia Garden. Later, since I mainly focused on the four seasons camellia breeding work at that time, it was gratifying that Mr. You Muxian maintained close contact with Mr. Wang Ta-chuang later. Mr. Wang Ta-chuang is a good friend of the Chinese camellia industry, and we are deeply saddened by his passing! Mr. Wang, rest in peace!"
The Photo of Camellia Breeding Group in 2006 in Shanghai (John Wang was the 4th from right in the 1st line)
John had travelled many places in China to have lectures and workshops to help Chinese camellia lovers how to breed a new cultivar and to share his experiences on camellia breeding. He had also travel many original distribution areas of camellia in China, including Zhejiang, Shandong, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guangdong, Fujian etc. provinces.
John in Dali in 2016 (Photo by Ms. Chen Qing)
John and Greg Davis in Dali in 2008 (Photo by Ms. Chen Qing)
John in Dali 2016 International Camellia Congress (Photo by Mr. Gong Guowen)
John in Shanghai in 2016 (Photo by Mr. You Jintang)
John had disscussion with Yongfu Nursery's staffs in Fujian (Photo by Mr. Zhang Chenhuan)
John in Shanghai Botanical Garden in 2018 (Photo by Ms. Guo Weizhen)
Ms Zhou Li from Chongqing visited John's home in USA in 2017 (Photo by Ms. Zhou Li)
John in Tengchong in 2008 with Mr. Yu Bin before the ancient camellia tree 'Jinpan Lizhi' (photo by Yu Bin)
John Ta-Chuang Wang, a longtime resident of Orinda, passed away on May 25, 2024 after suffering from a stroke and subsequently developing pneumonia. He was 84 years old.
John was born to Bai Chun Mao (Lucia Wang) and Yu Pai Wang in Guizhou, China, on May 16, 1940, during wartime. His family's ancestral home is in Nanking. He grew up in Taipei, Taiwan and immigrated to the U.S. in 1965 to pursue advanced studies. Remarkably, on the flight from Taiwan to the U.S, John met June Shu-Chun Wang (née Huang), his future wife, who was also immigrating to the U.S. for the same reason. John earned his masters degree in Dairy Science from Utah State University. On March 19, 1967, John and June got married in Salt Lake City, Utah.
John worked for Safeway's Lucerne dairy division as a Quality Control Manager for more than 40 years. As his career progressed, he and his growing family moved from Utah to Oklahoma to Texas and, finally, to California, where he worked in Walnut Creek and lived in Orinda, retiring in 2007. He was exceptionally creative and was highly respected by his colleagues. He solved multiple milk and food production problems from Edmonton, Canada to England, and he invented the industry standard Wang's cheese cutting method.
John grew and hybridized camellias for 40 years, and was internationally recognized for his camellia breeding methods. His articles have been published in trade journals and he won awards like best breed, best fragrant flower, and best variety of shapes and colors, at multiple shows. John formally registered 40 new camellias with the Chinese Camellia Society and was an advisor for the Chinese Camellia Breeding organization. He shared many of his creations with small nurseries in China to help with their livelihood.
John is survived by his wife of 57 years, June; children Janice Wang (Conor Hanvey), Grant Wang (Robyn Fass Wang), and Rita Wang Sugiyama; three grandchildren, Conor Hanvey II, Greta Wang, and Ernst Wang; and brothers Frank, Tony, Eric, and Ronald. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings David Wang, Eva Wu, and Amy Fu.
A memorial service will be held at Inspiration Chapel in Oakmont Memorial Park in Lafayette at 12:30 pm on Friday, June 7, 2024.
Lafayette, CA. 94549
