Fengzhen Gao, 86, a devoted mother, grandmother and great grandmother of Southborough, passed away peacefully on April 11, 2026, after an illness. She was the beloved mother of Dehui Li, Min Li, Tong Li, and Degang Li.
Born in Rongcheng, Shandong, China, on January 14, 1940, she was the third child of the late Ruilin Gao (Father) and Fuzhi Chu (mother). Fengzhen was raised in Rongcheng and, at the age of 18, moved to Heilongjiang in 1958. There, she became a Chinese language teacher and served in an elementary school for nearly 40 years. During this time, she married her husband, Enlin Li, and raised four children. In 1979, she returned to Shandong with her family.
Throughout her teaching career, she nurtured and inspired many outstanding students and was repeatedly recognized as an exceptional educator.
In 2006, Fengzhen immigrated to the United States, where she lived with her children. She came to know God and was baptized in 2010 at the Chinese Gospel Church in Southborough, Massachusetts.
Fengzhen deeply loved her family and cherished every moment spent with them. She also had a profound appreciation for God’s creation. She found great joy in traveling and seeing the world, always holding deep respect for the beauty of the world God created.
She is survived by her loving children, Dehui Li, Min Li, Tong Li, and Degang Li; her grandchildren, Chanyuan Li, Li Wang, Shuangyuan Li, Elizabeth Wu, David Wu, Mary Li, Jim Li, Jenna Williams, and Harry Li; and her great-grandchildren, Chenxi Zhai, Yinuo Zhai, and Luna Evangelista.
Fengzhen has gone to be with the Lord. She will live in our hearts forever and will never be forgotten.
(Photo and Obituary via Morris-Johnston Funeral Home)
