Yong Qiang Zhang

Yong Qiang Zhang, 94, of Overland Park, Kansas, passed away peacefully June 5, 2026. She was born February 25, 1932, the child of Deng Ping Zhang and Man Xia He of Wuhan, China. Yong Qiang was energetic and fond of singing from childhood on and influenced by Western music during middle and high school years. She enrolled in Shanghai Conservatory in 1949 and was soon selected to work in Shanghai Music and Dance Troupe as a professional performer in the new China. After ten active years of touring and performing, Yong Qiang resumed her study at the conservatory in 1960 in preparation for a career in teaching. She completed vocal study as a soprano in 1963 and was assigned to teach and perform in Fujian Provincial Music and Dance Troupe and Fujian Provincial Art School where she retired in 1980. She resumed teaching soon and tutored vocal students at Shanghai Normal University until immigrating to the United States of America in 1994. She was open-minded, curious, eager to learn, and a perfectionist. Yong Qiang was an excellent teacher, a role model, and a mother figure to all her students. She treated all her colleagues and students with honesty, warmth, and humanity, and she was always eager to help. This earned her many true friends throughout her career even during the Culture Revolution. Yong Qiang had many music friends, Chinese and American, and enjoyed singing and collaborating with them.

Yong Qiang married Boheng Zhu, a high school Chinese teacher, on December 5, 1962, and they spent 61 years together. They have one son Hao Zhu, who came to the USA in 1989 as a doctoral student. Yong Qiang and Boheng decided in 1994 to spend their retirement years with children and grandchildren. The family moved from Austin, Texas to Boston, and then to Overland Park. Yong Qiang had an enormous impact on the music pursuit and academic success of her son and grandchildren.

Yong Qiang was preceded in death by her stepbrother Yong Gang Zhang, stepsister Le Yi Li, and husband Boheng Zhu. She is survived by the son, Hao Zhu, his wife, WenFang Wang, and two grandchildren, Frances and Jonathan.

张永强（Yong Qiang Zhang)于2026年6月5日在堪萨斯州欧弗兰帕克（Overland Park）安详离世, 享年94岁。她于1932年2月25日在中国武汉出生，是张登平（Deng Ping Zhang）和何曼霞（Man Xia He）的女儿。张永强自幼充满活力，热爱歌唱，并在中学时期深受西方音乐的影响。1949年，她考入上海音乐学院，不久便入选上海歌舞团，成为新中国的一名专业表演艺术家。在经历了十年的活跃巡演生涯后，她于1960年重返母校学习，为从事教学工作做准备。1963年，她完成了女高音声乐专业的学习，随后被分配至福建省歌舞团和福建省艺术学校任教及演出，直至1980年退休。退休后不久，她返聘上海师范大学，执教声乐专业，直到1994年移民美国。她性格开朗，充满好奇心，好学上进，且追求完美。对她的学生来说，张永强不仅是一位优秀的教师和榜样，更有母亲一样的关心爱护。她以真诚、温暖、充满人性并乐于助人的态度，对待每一位同事与学生，这使她在整个职业生涯中，即便是在“文化大革命”期间、也结交了许多挚友。她在中美两国都有许多热爱音乐的朋友，并乐于与他们一同合作歌唱。

1962年12月5日，张永强与做高中语文教师的朱伯𧗽（Boheng Zhu）结为连理，两人一起度过了61年的岁月。他们育有一子朱皓（Hao Zhu），其于1989年来美攻读博士学位。1994年，张永强与朱伯衡决定赴美，与儿孙共度晚年。全家先后从德克萨斯州奥斯汀（Austin）迁至波士顿（Boston），最后定居于欧弗兰帕克。张永强对儿子及孙辈在音乐追求和学业成就方面产生了深远的影响。

张永强的继兄张永刚（Yong Gang Zhang）、继妹李乐怡（Le Yi Li）及丈夫朱伯衡均已先于她离世。她身后留下了儿子朱皓（Hao Zhu）、儿媳王文芳（WenFang Wang）以及两个孙辈 Frances 和 Jonathan。

您可以在此处留下对她的美好回忆并向其家人致以慰问