I am Anthea Zhang, a faculty member of the Jones School of Business, Rice University. Nanxiu and I have been friends and colleagues for 20-plus years. We both are alumni of Nanjing University although we did not have overlap there.

Over the 20-plus years, Nanxiu and I got together regularly. We did not talk about research because we did not understand each other’s scholarship. It’s hard for me to fully appreciate history, literature or poems. Meanwhile, my research, which is about firm strategy and profit maximization, was way too boring to Nanxiu’s taste. Yet, we had many one-to-one lunches at Rice Faculty Club and liked walking together on Rice campus. Instead of discussing research, we talked about something more fundamental—-our common roles as human being, as woman, as wife, as daughter, and most important, as mother. Each gathering gave strength to both of us.

Liang Liang (Nanxiu’s son), I did not get to meet you until last week. Dajing (Nanxiu’s younger brother), we just met today. But, I feel that I have known both of you for a long long time because Nanxiu talked about you two all the time. Dajing, you are like another son of hers. She loved both of you and felt proud of you.

We will all miss you, Nanxiu!