Shih-liang Wen of Athens, Ohio, passed away peacefully at The Lindley Inn in The Plains, Ohio on August 17, 2026. Shih-liang was born in Nanning, Guanxi Province, China, on June 12, 1933, the son of father Wen Shih-wei, and mother Hsiao Ching-fang. In 1949, Shih-liang moved with his mother and siblings to Hong Kong, and then eventually Taiwan where he finished high school. He received a mechanical engineering degree at the National Taiwan University (Taida), then moved to the United States in 1959. He began graduate school at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City where he met Ying-chien Chang, whom he married in 1961.

Upon finishing his master's degree at Utah, he and Ying-chien moved to Seattle where Shih-liang worked as an engineer for Boeing Company. Their first son, Dennis Wen, was born in Seattle. In 1963, they moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, where Shih-liang obtained a PhD in mathematics at Purdue University. Their second son, Andy Wen, was born in West Lafayette.

In 1968, the family moved to Athens, Ohio where Shih-liang began as an assistant professor in the Mathematics Department at Ohio University, proudly eventually rising to position of department chair from 1985 until 1993. Since 2003, Shih-liang has been Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Ohio University.

He received honorary professorships at Jiangshi University, and at Lanzhou University.

In 1995, Shih-liang adopted Jue Chen, a granddaughter of Shih-liang's uncle.

In 1997, Shih-liang married Liang Tao, a linguistics professor at Ohio University, and adopted her son Nannan Jiang.

Shih-liang enjoyed fishing with his "fishing buddy," playing bridge regularly achieving Ruby Life Master rank, performing Huqin (Chinese violin, impressively self-taught) for small and large audiences, and cheering on Purdue sports teams especially football and basketball.

He is survived by his devoted wife, Liang Tao, his children Dennis Wen (Valerie) of Daytona Beach, Florida, Andy Wen (Debbie) of San Antonio, Texas, Nannan Jiang of Atlanta, Georgia, Jue Chen (Roderick MacKinnon) of New York City, and Nannan Jiang of Atlanta, Georgia and grandchildren Druid Wen, Haley Wen (Frank McShane), Brittany Wen and Nathan Hu.

An informal gathering for friends and family will be held at Jagers Funeral Home, 24 Morris Ave in Athens, Ohio, on Saturday, August 29, 2026 at 3:00PM until 5:00PM EST. Please share a memory a note of condolence or sign the online register at www.jagersfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Professor Shih-Liang Wen Memorial Scholarship by visiting give.ohio.edu/shih-liang [https://give.ohio.edu/shih-liang]. Gifts may also be mailed to The Ohio University Foundation, P.O. Box 869, Athens, OH 45701. Checks should be made payable to The Ohio University Foundation; please write “Shih-Liang Wen Scholarship (SP)” on the memo line.