Obituary

Zhou Lixing, was born January 21, 1949 in Xupu, Hunan, China, and died September 22, 2024 at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill after an extended illness. He was the youngest child of Zhou Songnian and Peng Xiaozhong. Born into a large and loving family in the waning months of the Chinese Civil War, he saw the hardships his father (a teacher of high school mathematics) and his mother (a teacher of the Chinese language) faced during the Cultural Revolution. Even so, he persevered to become a building inspector in the Xupu Department of Education, where he worked for many years. In 1978 he married Xiang Shufang, and to this union four children were born.

A kind, generous and hard-working man, he had a wealth of friends and was always ready to help others. He enjoyed gardening, photography, music, and – in later years – playing with his grandchildren. He was proud of his close relationship with his siblings too, enjoying many fine outings with them. It is fitting that he passed away at the time of the fall equinox, a time of balance and harmony.

Mr. Zhou was preceded in death by his parents, Zhou Songnian and Peng Xiaozhong, by his brother Zhou Shiru, his sister Zhou Meiru, and his son Zhou Xinkan. He is survived by his brothers Zhou Jianru and Zhou Husheng, his sisters Zhou Yayu and Zhou Leshan, and his three daughters: Zhouyan Shu (Chen Daiman) of Xupu, Xia Mullen (Rod) of Chapel Hill, and Qian Ge (Tao) of Changsha. Five grandchildren also survive: Chen Cong, Chen Xiang, Isabella Mullen, Edesa Mullen, and Yixi Ge.

A memorial service will be held at Orange United Methodist Church, 1220 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, in Chapel Hill,  27514, at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 29.