Margaret C. Yang

March 12, 1941 – August 6, 2020 

Margaret C. Yang was born in China on March 12, 1941. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Chinese Literature before coming to the United States in the early 1970s to pursue a graduate degree in Informational Technology at the University of Washington.

While Margaret was at the UW, she met Kristina Katsaros and was adopted into the Katsaros family. Margaret spent many happy times with the Katsaros family at their beautiful Whidbey Island home and loved Kristina, her husband Mike, her son Anthony, and her daughter Ester.

Throughout her working years, Margaret held a variety of jobs. She worked at Boeing for 10 years in IT, sold real estate, and imported and sold jewelry in Seattle’s International District.

During her graduate school days, Margaret rented a room at a big house at 2010 NE 50^th Street, some years later, Margaret bought that house and rented out rooms to UW students; she continued living there until 2018.

Margaret’s beloved mother came from China to live with Margaret in early-2000s. Margaret tenderly cared for her mother who had dementia and made sure that all of her needs and wants were met. When her mother died, Margaret grieved this loss deeply and began to consider trying other churches as she felt her Catholic parish had failed her during her mother’s long illness and after her death.

It was at this time that Margaret found University Presbyterian Church which was within walking distance from her home. She attended the 11:45 service there each week, joined the Larson Life group, and became good friends with the members; she also made friends at the after-service coffee hour. Margaret helped with the toddler’s class at UPC and assisted with the MOPS group; she found great joy in working with the children of UPC and asked about them frequently when she was no longer able to attend church.

Margaret was a life-long learner, auditing classes at the UW each quarter and going to the library almost daily to use the resources and the computers there. It was at the UW library where Margaret had a stroke in 2018. She was taken to UW hospital where she was diagnosed with a glioblastoma.

Margaret went for rehab and then had to leave her beloved home in the U District to live at the Aegis in Queen Anne. She remained fiercely independent and always wished she could return to her special home on NE 50^Th Street; however, she came to enjoy the musical entertainment, socialization with the other residents and having seafood almost every night for dinner while living at Aegis.

Margaret bequeathed her entire estate to UPC, where she felt she had found faith, friends, purpose, support, and love. May we all learn from Margaret’s faith in God, caring spirit, amazing resilience, and generous heart, rest in peace dear Margaret.