Liming "Larry" Xu

Dr. Liming Xu (徐立明, lovingly known as Larry) — devoted husband, proud father, joyous grandfather, scientist, mentor, and beloved friend — passed away on November 20, 2025, at the age of 67, while enjoying a Pacific cruise during a family vacation in Hawaii. His passing was sudden and unexpected, leaving behind a quiet but immeasurable absence in the many lives he touched.

Liming was born on July 28, 1958, in Haicheng, Liaoning, China. From an early age, his world was shaped by questions. He was the child who looked at streams, rainfall, rivers, and wondered why water moved the way it did, how mountains influenced flow, and how data could tell stories nature could not speak aloud. This fascination naturally led him to pursue Hydrology at Dalian Maritime University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science. He continued his graduate studies at the University of Arizona, completing his PhD in Hydrology. His academic work resulted in numerous publications, reflecting his belief that science existed not to impress, but to explain, understand, and improve the world.

His career began at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), where he served as a hydrological scientist, contributing to important research involving water systems, hydrological modeling, and earth sciences. His colleagues remember him not as the loudest voice in the room, but the one most likely to ask bold fundamental questions. He believed bold ideas deserved evidence, and evidence deserved bold interpretation.

Later, Larry built a distinguished industry career at FM (Factory Mutual Insurance Company) in Norwood, Massachusetts and Johnston, Rhode Island, where he transitioned from pure hydrology into natural hazard research and engineering, eventually focusing on data science and risk analytics. He became one of the rare scientists who could explain both the movement of water and the movement of data — calm, precise, curious, and endlessly committed to the truth that numbers reveal. His contributions shaped both scientific thought and engineering practice within the company and across the industry.

Despite his professional achievements, Larry’s greatest pride was family. He cherished his wife Liyan Guo and his son Han Xu beyond measure. He carried Han’s graduation moments like medals in his heart, quietly but proudly mentioning them when invited, always steering the spotlight back to gratitude rather than applause. “He did the work,” Larry would smile and say. “I just reminded him to eat and sleep sometimes.” One of the greatest joys of his life came later: the birth of his granddaughter Kalliope “Koko” Xu on February 4, 2021. Becoming a grandfather transformed Larry in the sweetest ways. He spent much of his spare time with Koko — playing, laughing, reading, teaching little curiosities, and cherishing every moment. His face lit up when she entered the room, and his joy with her was unmistakable. Their bond was deep, tender, and filled with the kind of delight only a grandparent can understand.

If science reflected his mind, community reflected his soul. Larry often hosted friends at his home near the workplace, where coworkers and friends became extended family, laughter became a valid form of inquiry, and soup and long debates were never separate events. His dining table had witnessed arguments about physics and flood models, but also loud friendships, internship guidance, holiday dinners, layover luggage, and stories that started with “You know what I found confusing today…” and ended with laughter. One of his most defining virtues was housing and mentoring young talent. He opened his home to generations of FM student interns and new joiners, many arriving from across the world — brilliant, sometimes nervous and homesick. Larry not only gave them a place to stay, he gave them permission to ask questions boldly, and permission to laugh loudly at life while doing serious work. His mentorship influenced a wide network of young scientists, engineers, and analysts who still refer to themselves as “Larry’s unofficial graduates”.

Beyond work, family and community, Larry lived a rich, joyful, and curious life. He loved dancing, often joining dance friends for evenings filled with rhythm, laughter, and lighthearted fun. He also loved fishing, finding peace and companionship among his fishing friends on quiet mornings by the water. In the last several years of his life, ever curious, he began learning Spanish, approaching language the same way he approached science: with humility, focus, and genuine excitement for every new phrase.

Larry’s personality blended brilliance, sincerity, humility, and humor into something wonderfully his own. He was known for finding joy in ordinary moments, and for reminding those around him that “Life is good…” — a phrase he said often and meant deeply. Whether analyzing data, debating grocery store inefficiencies, guiding interns, or just sitting over tea with friends, he carried a warmth that made everyone feel seen and understood.

Larry brought humor to every ordinary day. Not polished comedy — real humor. He found joy in:

• Struggling with trail maps that definitely looked easier from satellite view

• Analyzing the inefficiency of grocery store checkout lines

• Asking interns to explain things he already knew just to see if they could say it better

• Debating data models and then debating whether coffee machines could also benefit from data models

• Turning every ordinary confusion into a punchline

• Smiling through life with scientist sincerity and storyteller humor

He had the gift of laughter without ego, brilliance without arrogance, curiosity without exhaustion, and mentoring without calculation.

Larry leaves behind his loving wife Liyan, his beloved son Han, his treasured granddaughter Koko, and an extended community of friends, colleagues, fishing, dancing and hiking partners, student interns he housed, and anyone lucky enough to be caught by his humor, curiosity, authenticity, and unwavering kindness.

His life may have ended too soon, but his impact — scientific, engineering, personal, and joyfully human — will continue to chart paths forward in water systems, data systems, and young careers still shaping the future.

We will remember him for:

• Asking questions others were shy to voice

• Laughing at everyday life others were too busy to see

• Opening his home and heart to people across continents

• Merging science and humor into conversation and mentorship

• Fishing, Dancing, Studying and Living genuinely, curiously, and hilariously human

• Saying, with that signature smile: “Life is good…”

Dr. Liming Xu 徐立明 (“Larry”), a scientist who made life warmer by studying the world and funnier by living in it.