Support for Zongde Qiu's Family After Tragic Loss

Helping a Family When It Is Needed the Most: Standing With the Wonderful Family That Was Suddenly Turned Upside Down By a Tragic Accident

Zongde Qiu, an energetic and promising 45-year-old Silicon Valley engineer who was passionate about everything that he was involved in, tragically lost his life while pursuing one of his passions on August 3rd, 2024. While kayak fishing in the ocean close to Pacifica beaches in California to balance off the intense work that is typical in Silicon Valley, he fell off his kayak and was not able to get back for some unknown reason. He was found by surfers and was rushed to emergency care, unfortunately, he could not be revived. Personally, it is one of the most difficult news for me to hear, as I also have the same passion for kayak fishing and became a good friend with him through kayak fishing, and he always struck me as being very cautious, calm, and well prepared for each one of these ocean kayaking trips.

Talking about being passionate, Zongde had also been very helpful and selfless to the people around him, and he was always the first to help any member in needs in our kayak groups. I personally also found him to be very proud of Tsinghua University who educated him, and saw him coming to Tsinghua University and its alumni’s defense without hesitation in multiple occasions. But above all, he was extremely loyal to his wonderful wife Kexin Zhang and their two wonderful daughters. Everybody in our kayak fishing groups heard multiple times that he skipped or cancelled kayak trips because he was taking his daughters to extracurricular events like volleyball games.

Being the only income provider in the family, his unexpected sudden pass turned his family finance into chaos, and they are having serious difficulties covering the funeral cost and other short term needs. Being inspired by Zongde’s passionate and selfless spirit, let’s all come together and help this wonderful family at this unimaginably difficult time.