Shirley Wood in 1957 when she joins Henan University. [Photo courtesy of Huang Feng]

In the early hours of April 7, 2022, Madam Shirley Wood, more commonly known by her Chinese name Wu Xueli and deeply loved by her colleagues and students at Henan University (HENU), passed away aged 96. Born in Arkansas in the United States in 1925, Madam Shirley Wood became a Chinese citizen in 1975 and had dedicated her life to education at HENU located in Kaifeng, Henan Province.

It is another April. Peach and plum blossoms are growing in profusion. With vivid recollections of her life, students and teachers of HENU proceed with persistent efforts.

Selfless devotion drove her to cross ocean for China

Shirley Wood was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas on July 15, 1925. As a child, Wood frequently moved with her parents, who first went to Africa to run a plantation when she was four. They then returned to the States after the outbreak of the world economic crisis. Still, due to employment changes, the family lived a life of displacement between three states and five cities. After graduating junior high, Wood went to a night school to finish her senior high education while working as a nanny. She loved literature and reading and was deeply influenced by her mother, Mrs. Dawson, a journalist, children's literature writer and communist activist. Wood showed great sympathy with and support for the American civil rights movement and workers' struggle for their rights. 

In 1942, Wood was admitted to Michigan State Agricultural College, where she met Huang Yuanbo, a visiting Chinese microbiologist. Like-minded, they fell in love at first sight and married on December 26, 1945. In June 1946, the couple came to China, a land of mystery where she intended to pursue her long-cherished utopian dream. Edgar Snow's depiction of red Yan'an, a city in the northwestern province of Shaanxi and the cradle of the Chinese revolution, in his book Red Star Over China infused Wood greatly. She longed to visit the city, which she believed was the future and hope of China.