Melvin Ang was a life-long student, a teacher, a diplomat, and a loving husband, father, and grandfather. Born on July 29, 1943 as the only son of Albert and Rose Ang, Melvin excelled in life by attending Boston Latin School, finishing Chinese School, graduating from Dartmouth College, earning an M.A. from the University of Michigan and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, and becoming multilingual. Melvin was always studying.
Melvin became a professor at Salisbury State College in Maryland in the late 1970s where he taught political science, world civilization, and history. His interests in world affairs led him to join the Foreign Service with the U.S. State Department where he served in places like China, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon and Taiwan. Wherever there was a hot spot in the world, Melvin wanted to serve there. He also worked at the United Nations, the State Department and the U.S. Senate. He was insightful when he would explain how what was really happening differed from what we may have read on the morning headlines.
When he was a Dartmouth Project Asian Fellow in 1962, he studied at Chung Chi College in Hong Kong where he met Wende Tsang. They married and enjoyed welcoming visitors to wherever they were assigned and particularly when they were in Guangzhou, China in the late 1990s. Groups would visit China to learn about family roots, traditions and see how much China has developed.
Like most second-generation Chinese-Americans growing up in the U.S., Melvin worked as a waiter at his uncle’s Chinese restaurant and learned the value of hard work. While he lived in some of the most interesting places in the world, he was a diehard fan of the Boston sports scene and particularly the Red Sox. After his retirement from the State Department, he was planning to resume his love for teaching and arranged an appointment in China.
Melvin Ang returned to the Lord on March 6, 2012 and is survived by his wife, Wende Ang, daughter Jennifer Ang, son-in-law Ewan Stein, and granddaughters Maisie and Rosemary.
Melvin Ang is remembered for his intelligence, humor, loyalty to his country, joy for adventure, and love for good conversations with everyone he meets.