Vivian A.C. Chang

May 11, 1924 - April 30, 2019

“Vivian A.C. Chang 1924 -2019 Vivian A.C. Chang was born May 11, 1924 on the island of Kauai. In 1947 she married Thomas M.C. Chang [ Professor Thomas Chang of the University of Hawai at Manoa, School of Education] who predeceased her 2015. Vivian Chang graduated from McKinley High School and the University of Hawaii in 1947. She received a master’s degree in education from Columbia University. She began her teaching career at Lahainaluna High School on Maui. Vivian taught at University Lab School for several years and finished her successful teaching career at Kaahumanu Middle School in Honolulu. She studied classical piano started from the age of seven and was an outstanding pianist. Her family’s finances did not provide her the means to study at Julliard or later, medicine. Instead she put her talents into education and specialized in identifying and assisting both autistic and gifted children. Her hobbies were classical music, gardens and crafts. She loved her garden. Her favorite activity in recent years was in cultivating hybrid roses. Vivian was an avid and precise porcelain doll-maker. She was known throughout the craft community in the islands for her precision work and exquisite faithfulness to detail. She excelled at several different crafts. She made vintage-style Faberge Eggs, miniature doll houses, and stuffed animals. She was an avid student of Hawaiian culture and made her own feather leis and Hawaiian quilts. She passed away peacefully at the age of 94 in Honolulu. She is survived by her two sons: David Alan Chang of Honolulu and Williamson Chang of the University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson faculty. Below is a picture of Vivian Chang and her family on the graduation of Thomas M.C. Chang with PhD from Ohio State University in 1959.”