Joseph C. Wang 王綽, of Blacksburg, Virginia, passed away on July 1, 2024, surrounded by his four children, after a brief illness in Wilmington, Delaware.

Joe enjoyed a fulfilling and joyful life spanning nine decades in three continents, where he enjoyed deep friendships, accomplishment as a professor of architecture, and a joy of the arts. He was born in 1934 in Suzhou, China, to Wang Ch'iu 王璆 (mother) and Wang Pei-Lun 王沛綸 (father). Inspired by Pei-Lun, a violinist, conductor, and musicologist, Joe’s first passion was music; he was admitted to the National Music Conservatory in Nanjing for training in violin (in spite of his finger dimensions, according to his memoirs). World War II disrupted his musical education, but not his love of music, and he continued his study of violin in Taipei where he appeared on Taiwan national television, performing the Vivaldi Violin Concerto in A minor as a soloist with the Taiwan Provincial Symphony Orchestra under the baton of his father.  

Joe remained committed to artistic pursuits as an undergraduate architecture student at National Cheng Kung University, where he developed lifelong friendships with a formidable trio of fellow design students, Fred Hsia, Meng Tacheang and John Shen. After a stint in the Marines, he subsequently crossed the Pacific to matriculate at the University of California in Berkeley, where he obtained a master’s degree in architecture. Armed with his degrees, he moved across the country to Chicago where he worked in commercial architecture at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. While living in the midwest, his most significant accomplishment was meeting a beguiling young woman, June Kuo-Kiang Liang, whom he would court and marry in 1965. 

Newlyweds Joe and June moved to Blacksburg, VA for Joe’s faculty position at Virginia Tech, where he was a founding member of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. He would later obtain his doctoral degree at the University of Bath in England, focusing on design method, which would remain a lifelong academic focus.  Although he initially predicted that Blacksburg “would be a three-year place,” he and June loved the people and community of Blacksburg, where he happily resided with his family for the remainder of his life.

Joe was deeply committed to his academic pursuits at Virginia Tech, which included the completion of several fellowships and authorship of numerous articles and books, and he continued to teach, administer, research, advise and serve at the University well beyond the standard retirement age. He remained in contact with many of his trainees, sometimes for decades after they completed their degrees. After his retirement in 2009, he relished the opportunity to spend more time with family and friends and took advantage of robust physical and cognitive strength into his 80s to travel six continents, often visiting places around the world that personally impacted him for their architectural, cultural, and natural beauty.  

Above all, Joe will be remembered for a preternatural charisma. He was an engaging conversationalist and storyteller, who could instantly befriend virtually anyone, regardless of age, origin, and affiliation. He could disarm the stoic with his laid-back and surprisingly unconventional sense of humor. He had a profound ability to appreciate the beauty in simple and ordinary things, and often gently influenced those around him to shift their perspectives to see life through his optimistic lens.

Throughout his lifetime, Joe remained profoundly grateful to his sister-in-law, Helen Liang Tang, whose role as "the best matchmaker" led him to June. Joe and June were happily married until June's death in 1999. Joe was also predeceased by his parents and two sisters, Ling Ling (~1940) and Gretchen Chi Hsu (2015), and grandson, Connor Wang (2007). He is survived by four children Michael (Jimo Borjigin), Mei-Lun (Larry Chou), Vincent (Janie Xue), Xiao-Wei (Alan Feng), four granddaughters (Emma Borjigin-Wang, Maxine Chou, Samantha Wang, and Alexa Feng) and four grandsons (Morgan Borjigin-Wang [Tali Khain], Lawson Chou, Tyler Wang, and Maxwell Feng), and nephews David and Hanson Hsu.  He leaves behind an extensive network of additional family and friends, including a treasured friendship with Ms. Andria Dann.  Joe was extraordinarily proud that he left a legacy in his image, with family committed to helping others, to academic pursuits, and to the arts. As an avid photo documentarian, he built a collection of pictures that detail a life enriched by treasured friendships, diverse travels, and memorable events with family.

In lieu of flowers, and in keeping with Joe and June’s commitment to philanthropy and educational equity, contributions may be made to the Wang Family Fund at the Community Foundation of the New River Valley. Checks made out to CFNRV with Wang Family Fund in the memo line may be mailed to PO Box 6009, Christiansburg, VA 24068-6009. Gifts may also be made online at https://cfnrv.org/give and designated to the Wang Family Fund.