Alfred Ho, retired professor of economics emeritus at Western Michigan University, died Jan. 26, 2014. He was 94.
Born in China, Ho graduated from Yenching University in 1941 and then received a master’s degree in 1942 from the University of Washington. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton in 1944.
That year, he married Marjorie Kao, who was attending Sarah Lawrence College. During World War II, Ho worked in the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. After the war, in 1946, under a sense of service, Ho returned to China with his family to teach. However, the Communist takeover forced his return to freedom and the United States in 1949.
Settling in California, Ho found work teaching Chinese at the Army Language School at Fort Ord for nine years. In 1958, he moved to Los Angeles, taught economics at Los Angeles City College, and earned a Ph.D. in economics from UCLA. In 1967, he became a professor of economics at Western Michigan. He taught there for 22 years until retiring in 1989 at age 70. For more than 40 years, he contributed to the Graduate School’s Annual Giving campaign.
Ho’s wife predeceased him in 2002. He is survived by four children, six grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.