Obituary of Yunfang Zhang

We regret to announce the passing of Yunfang Zhang, 48, of Ottawa, ON, on January 27, 2022 after a long and courageous battle with ALS. 

Yunfang is survived by her devoted husband of 24 years Zhong Huang, cherished daughter Angela Huang, loving parents Min Li and Yufa Zhang, sister Yunxia Zhang, niece, and numerous friends and colleagues. 

 Yunfang was born February 14, 1973 in Beijing China. She lived a fulfilling life with many hobbies such as dancing, cooking, reading and traveling. 

Yunfang earned her BSc in Horticulture from Beijing Agricultural College in 1995 followed by MSc in Plant Molecular Biology from China Agricultural University in 1998. In 2002, she completed her MSc in Computer Science from State University of New York in Binghampton, NY. After working in the US for several years, Yunfang began working at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Ottawa Research and Development Centre in 2003 until 2010 when she returned to Shanghai where she worked in two different research areas. Yunfang returned to Ottawa in 2015 to her previous lab at AAFC where she continued to work until her passing. Yunfang co-authored many scientific papers during her career and was an invaluable member of the AAFC community,  particularly to her co-workers. 

Yunfang's love of cooking was shared by her friends and colleagues. She made the most complicated tasks look easy and was happy to show us how to make various dishes. Yunfang was never one to boast about her talents, but was always there when needed. Her determination and brave outlook is an inspiration to us all. We will miss Yunfang and will cherish our memories of her. 

At the wishes of her family, in lieu of flowers, please make donations to ALS Society of Ontario/Canada.