Obituary of Hui Min Chai

QUEENSBURY - Bill Chai (Hui Min Chai), passed away on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 after a brief hospital stay following a heart attack. He was 78. Bill was born in 1944 in the Fujian province of China. He was one of 5 children of father Yi Chai and mother Shu-Ching Yu. His family moved to Taiwan when he was seven. He completed his undergraduate studies at National Cheng Kung University, which was followed by 2 years of compulsory military service. He then immigrated to the United States in 1968 for graduate studies at the University of South Carolina, and obtained a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering in 1970. It was there that he met and married his wife, Ming (Ming-chia) Chen, who had also emigrated from Taiwan to continue her studies. He was naturalized as a US citizen in 1980. Bill had a successful career as an electrical engineer. He worked for McGraw-Edison in South Carolina until 1983, when he started working for General Electric in Fort Edward, New York; he moved with his family to Queensbury, which would remain his home for life. Over the course of 35 years at GE, he was acknowledged by the IEEE Standards Association on multiple occasions for outstanding contributions to standards development for power capacitors. He received International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) awards recognizing his exceptional achievements. His work brought him to dozens of countries across 6 continents, where his ability to pick up languages, his down-to-earth charm, and his talent for cracking jokes won the hearts of everyone he encountered - he broke the ice, and how! Bill liked to play golf and ping pong. He could trot out French, Russian, and Arabic in conversation, and enjoyed Spanish club. He was a public speaking mentor. He was a news junkie and enjoyed discussing geopolitics. Most of all, he loved connecting with folks from all walks of life, everywhere. Privately, he chose to live a no-frills, semi-austere life and rarely sought any manner of creature comforts - "a dog's life", in his own words. Bill and his wife Ming had a daughter Winnie (Haw-Wen) Chai, and son Haw-Bin Chai, who called him "Bob", short for "baba". Bill was a loving, devoted, and generous husband and father. He is survived by his children, his grandson Elijah Chai, his sisters Anna Chai Carter, Louisa Chai Wu, and Vicki Chiang; and his brother Stanley Chai. His wife Ming passed away in 2020; he missed her dearly. Our world just won't be the same since his joyful, happy-go-lucky soul has moved onwards. Cremation has taken place through the care of Simple Choices, Inc. A memorial event for Bill will be organized by family in the coming weeks, the date is forthcoming. We invite all friends who knew Bill to request further details by sending an email to hbchai+dad@gmail.com and/or hawwen.chai+dad@gmail.com Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared with the Chai family, online at: SimpleChoicesCremation.com