UNION – George Wei-ming Fang, beloved husband and father, died April 13, 2012, from pneumonia. He was born April 9, 1936, in Nanning, in the southern province of Kwangsi, China, to Achilles and Irene (Pan) Fang.
That same year, his parents traveled with him to Beijing, where they resided with her extended family in the Pan family compound. His mother and infant brother died there in 1938. He and his father continued to live in Beijing, which was under Japanese occupation during the war until 1947. Dr. Fang was associated with the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and under its auspices, emigrated to the U.S. with his son that year to take a teaching position at Harvard University. George was educated at Fenn School, Concord, Mass.; Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and Harvard University, where he was a classics major. He enlisted in the Navy in 1956 and was selected for the NESEP Program. Upon completion of this program at the University of Louisville in 1960, he received an undergraduate degree in physics and was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy. He served aboard the USS Buck, DD 761; the USS Buchanan, DDG 14; and the USS Columbus, CG 12, before entering Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1965. He earned a master’s degree in naval architecture, as well as a master’s degree in electrical engineering. He continued his Naval career, serving as assistant ship logistics manager for cruisers in Naval Ships Systems Command, Washington, D.C. His last assignment was as availability planning officer at Charleston (S.C.) Naval Shipyard. He had attained the rank of commander before his retirement from the Navy in 1976. That same year he moved with his family to Union. He continued to do consulting work in his chosen field of naval architecture and engineering, traveling to various shipyards around the country. He eventually took a position with Epoch Engineering, a Washington, D.C., based consulting firm, opening and managing an office for them in Bath, until his retirement in 1996. He was a weapons system specialist and worked on Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Systems on Arleigh Burke – class destroyers being built at Bath Iron Works.
He is survived by his wife of more than 45 years, Barbara Powers Fang; his daughter, Melissa Fang and her husband, Andrew Hargens, of Newton, Mass.; his daughter, Amy and her husband, Paul Lannon, of Reading, Mass.; his grandsons, Joshua and Owen Lannon, and Grayson and Holland Hargens, who all brought such joy to him these past 12 years; his brother, Bernard Fang of Somerville, Mass.; his sister, Madeleine Fang of Richmond, Calif.; his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Thomas and Patricia Powers of Cumberland and Brian and Marie Powers of South Hope; many loving nieces and nephews; and special friends, Janan and David Vaughn of Camden and Fran and Jack Rogers of Maynard, Mass. He will be fondly remembered by many for his great wit, integrity and charm.
A celebration of his life will be held in the summer. Donations in his memory may be made to Vose Library, P.O. Box 550, Union, ME 04862.