Chao Guo (郭超), age 58, passed away on July 25, 2021, at Lahey Hospital in Burlington.

He will be dearly missed by his loving wife, Yunling Shi (石运琳); their daughter, Dena Guo (郭德娜); his sisters and brothers-in-law, Shiqiong Guo (郭仕琼) and Mingquan Wu (吴明泉), Shihua Guo (郭仕华) and Nanxiang Chen (陈南翔), Shirong Guo (郭仕容) and Xingchun Li (李兴春), and brother and sister-in-law Jinquan Zhao (赵金圈) and Xiaohong Wang (王小红); as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and an international community of friends.

Chao was born in Sichuan Province, China on September 10, 1962 to Sizhi Guo (郭思芝) and Huixian Pu (蒲慧先). Growing up, he enjoyed playing soccer and card games.

Chao attended Beijing Forestry University, where he studied Forest Pests and Disease Control and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1982.  He also met his wife, who was one of his classmates. After graduating, he worked as an instructor at the Northwestern Forestry University and was a visiting scholar at Melbourne University, Australia. He and his wife immigrated to the United States in the early 1990s to seek more opportunities for education and work. He attended Washington State University, where he graduated with Master's degrees in Computer Science as well as Crop and Soil Science in 1997. He remained a life-long fan of the Washington State University Cougars, and always watched their football games.

After graduating, Chao had a long career as a computer programmer, starting with a job at Microsoft. He would go on to work with many other companies, including Mueller Water Systems, and had recently joined the Boston Veterans Affairs Healthcare System before his passing.

Chao was an avid sports fan, particularly of college and professional football, and also loved to stay active. In Boston, he was an energetic member of the Cambridge Chinese Culture Center Ping Pong Club, where he won several tournaments. Such a feat did not come without hard practice (he was known to practice his swing in the car while waiting at red lights). Chao also quickly became friends with fellow club members, and enjoyed engaging others in interesting conversations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he began spending more time outside, including hiking outdoors and joining the BEN and Hey Running Clubs. He had been training for the 2021 Baystate Marathon at the time of his passing. He was known to work hard to accomplish any goal he set his mind to, and surely would have succeeded in his ambition to finish marathons in 5 different countries.

Visitation will be held at the Bedford Funeral Home, 167 Great Rd., Bedford, on Friday, July 30, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

The funeral service will be held at the Westview Cemetery, 520 Bedford St., Lexington, on Saturday, July 31, at 10:30 AM. See Zoom information below.

Topic: Yunling Shi Saturday

Time: Jul 31, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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