Obituary of Anxiu Kuang

EDINBURG—Anxiu Kuang, 62, passed away on December 29, 2016 at Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston, TX as a result of injuries received in a car accident. Dr. Kuang was born in Qidong County, China, on May 25th, 1954, and she was the first child of Shouzheng Kuang and Huanying Li. She is survived by her husband of 34 years, Benxu Cheng. In addition, she is survived by her five siblings and ten nieces and nephews. Dr. Anxiu Kuang graduated from Wuhan University with both B.S. and M.S. in Biology, and then earned a Ph.D. in Botany from Auburn University in 1991. After her postdoctoral training at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Louisiana State University, she joined The University of Texas Pan American/The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 1998 as an Assistant Professor, and later were promoted to Associate Professor, and Full Professor. Dr. Kuang was a noted scholar in plant biology, had numerous influential publications in areas such as plant reproduction and physiology, and nurtured the university's biology program in her areas of expertise. Aside from her research, Dr. Kuang was a devoted educator, and the students of the university were her life's passion. In her 19 years at the university, Dr. Kuang had impacted the lives of thousands of students. Outside of her academic career, Dr. Kuang loved cooking, gardening, dancing, and music. She was a loving wife and sister, who took care of her family and often had a good laugh with friends. She had a quiet strength, and had no hesitation to sacrifice her needs for the good of her family. Dr. Kuang will be forever remembered as a role model in her profession, a loving wife and mother who always had smiles, even when times were tough. She will be missed. A memorial service is scheduled from 2:00pm to 4:00pm on Saturday, January 14th, 2017, at Legacy Chapels, 4610 S. Jackson Rd in Edinburg. Funeral services are under the direction of Legacy Chapels in Edinburg.