Victoria (Vicky) Siu

Birth: Jul. 3, 1935 Profession: Feb. 5, 1966 Death: Feb. 20, 2010

ST. LOUIS, MO – Sister Victoria (Vicky) Siu, RSCJ, Ph.D., author, historian, and teacher, died Saturday, February 20, 2010, at Oakwood, the Society of the Sacred Heart health care facility in Atherton, California.

Fluent in English, Mandarin, Shanghai, and French, Sister Siu conducted extensive research on the Yuanming Yuan in Beijing, (known as the 'Old Summer Palace' and originally called the 'Imperial Gardens') and on other architecture and gardens of China. She was awarded a scholarship by the Republic of China Department of Education and studied at the Language Center Fu Jen University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Sister Siu taught at various Sacred Heart schools including Kenwood, Stone Ridge, and Eden Hall. She then served as assistant and adjunct professor at Loyola College, George Mason University, and the University of San Francisco.

She joined the Religious of the Sacred Heart in 1957 at the Kenwood novitiate in Albany, New York, and made her final profession in 1966 in Rome. Sister Siu received her B.S. in chemistry, with a minor in biology, from Trinity College, Washington, D.C. She earned two masters degrees: an M.A. in education from Kenwood Normal Training School and an M.A. in history from Georgetown University. She also received her Ph.D. in East Asian History from Georgetown.

She was born in Shanghai in 1935 but moved to the United States only four years later. Her parents, both deceased, were John Tchoan-pao Siu and Theresa Ming-tse Yang Siu. Sister Siu is survived by her sisters, Drs. Moyra Moy and Clare Siu of San Francisco; Barbara Chow of Flushing, NY; and a brother Paul Siu of Douglaston, NY. Another brother, Matthew Siu preceded her in death.

The Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Siu will be celebrated on Saturday, February 27, at 10:00 AM in the chapel at Oakwood. Burial in the Oakwood cemetery will be followed by sharing of memories.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Society of the Sacred Heart, 4120 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108.

Note: Sister Siu's biography is posted at Roller Hapgood & Tinney.