Hans Charles Wang

Hans Charles Wang of Kearneysville, West Virginia, died on May 3, 2024 after a short illness. He was 60 years old.

He was born to Anne Marie Wang and Charles S. Wang in New York City on August 17, 1963, and grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, where he and his friends reportedly wreaked havoc on the neighborhood and snuck into Manhattan without permission.

He attended Carnegie Mellon University, intending to study technical writing, before switching to studio art with an emphasis on printmaking. Hans always persisted through challenges. By the time he graduated college, he had dropped out and returned to school twice, the second time with a toddler in tow. Amazingly, the toddler survived.

Hans held jobs at the New York Public Library and the Library of Congress. He loved reading books, collecting them, and restoring them. He loved good fountain pens and quality cookware. He loved art, movies, and music. He tempted fate with his collection of knives, guns, and motorcycles.

He loved the outdoors and all animals except the West Virginia groundhogs who lived under his house. True to his heritage as a first-generation American, he loved German and Chinese cuisines. He loved dumplings of any ethnic origin at all (shout-out to perogies).

He enjoyed repairing antique woodworking tools and giving the repaired items away — despite his partner’s gentle hints that he should sell them — to friends and acquaintances who appreciated old, finely made things.

He had a knack for befriending good people and partnering with strong, compassionate women. He was sweet and funny enough to get a second date with his fiancee even though she knew he lived with his mother.

Most of all, he loved his kids. His son Thomas Christoph Baco-Wang, age 38, is an acclaimed chef de cuisine. His son Liam James Chyang-Ning Wang, age 24, is an electrical engineer. His daughter Fiona MeiHua Wang, age 21, is an artist. Their mothers, Margaret Baco and Mary Hart, join their children in grief.

He is also survived by his sisters Susi Deljoubar and Nina Ferrigno, and by Marissa Melton, his partner of eight years.

Hans died at Penn West Hospital in Pittsburgh on May 3, 2024, surrounded by his kids, their mothers, and his partner. He was ushered out of this life with love and gratitude and promises to see each other again in whatever realm we enter after death.

With that in mind, the wedding has been postponed.

Charitable donations in memory of Hans Charles Wang may be given to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Friends of Shepherdstown Library, and the Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County, West Virginia.

A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.