Jing Fang Deng
(née He)

DENG (née He), Jing Fang 何静芳, (Blackrock, Co. Dublin and formerly of Shanghai, China), passed away in her sleep on August 25th 2023 at St. Vincent’s University Hospital after a recurrence of cholangiocarcinoma. Dearly beloved wife and best friend of Er Li 邓尔立 and wonderful mother to Ting Le 邓庭乐 and Aisling 邓庭蕾. She is celebrated and will be very sadly missed by her husband, son and daughter, their respective partners Cui-Cui and Conor, her cherished grandsons Holden 邓奎明 and Aiden 邓奎睿, relatives and friends in Ireland, the UK, Switzerland, China and rest of the world.

 

Rest in peace.

 

A Celebration of Jing’s life will take place at 10am on Saturday, September 2nd, in the Victorian Chapel, Mount Jerome Crematorium, Harold‘s Cross. For those that cannot attend, the Service can be viewed online using this link: https://www.mountjerome.ie/victorian-chapel-service/ . Family flowers only please. Donations, in lieu of flowers to the Irish Cancer Society using this link: https://www.cancer.ie/ .

 

Jing Fang’s story:

 

Jing Fang was born on 7 July 1946 in Shanghai to Anting He 何安亭, a motor industrialist and Juan Dong 董娟, a homemaker. She was the second of five children with 2 sisters and 2 brothers. She grew up in the Hongkou district of Shanghai (formerly the American concession) and studied mechanical engineering at university, after which she worked for 17 years designing agricultural vehicles in Liyang and Wuxi. Throughout her life she valued precision, reasoned design, and demanded the highest standards of herself and those around her.

 

She married Er Li Deng 邓尔立 in October 1979 after being introduced by respective relatives. They had a son Ting Le 邓庭乐 born in 1980 and a daughter Aisling 邓庭蕾 born in 1990. Her husband and children survive her. In 1985 she emigrated to Ireland to be with her husband, and, apart from a brief 9 month stay in Shanghai in 1988-89, she lived in Dublin for the rest of her life. In Ireland, she embarked on a very different life, initially working in one of the earliest Chinese restaurants in Dublin and later organising and managing her husband’s Tai Chi and Acupuncture business, all the while raising her family.

 

Jing did three years in a labour camp in China for her anti-communist beliefs, a common practice in China even today. She remained dedicated to promoting the cause of democracy in her homeland for her entire life. Unfortunately, she did not live to see the end of the regime that persecuted her, like so many others. She understood from personal experiences in labour camp the reality of conditions for ordinary workers in China. Jing was a proud Chinese woman, and always distinguished between the state and its wonderful people and culture.

 

Her life in Ireland was a happier one, and in 1995 she received the security of Irish citizenship, while she and her family settled in Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Her talkative personality, genuine nature and perfectionism endeared her to everyone who knew her. A trained cook, she expressed herself through her deep understanding of food, especially traditional Chinese cuisine, and loved to make meals for others more than for herself.

 

In 2014, she was diagnosed with stage 3 cholangiocarcinoma which she recovered from. Serendipitously, she had her initial cancer surgery on her birthday in 2014 and exactly 2 years later in 2016 her first grandson, Holden 邓奎明 was born; a special bond that they will share forever. Her second grandson Aiden 邓奎睿 was born in 2019 and brought her more joy, his beautiful smile reminded her fondly of her father and her own children.

 

She spent her late life learning about everything she could from the Internet, taking long walks along Dublin bay with her husband, cooking with her daughter and chatting over FaceTime with her son and grandchildren. Jing Fang was a fiercely intelligent, loving and dedicated woman. An irreplaceable presence, and unique spirit, she will be dearly missed by those who loved her.