Yu-tsai “Roy” Chen of Glen Ellyn, Illinois passed away peacefully on Sept. 29, 2025 at the age of 90. Roy was born on Oct. 16, 1934 in Chekiang (now Zhejiang) Province in China.  At the age of 14, he fled to Taiwan to escape the Communist takeover of Mainland China.  He later served for two years in the Taiwanese Air Force.  Roy received his B.S. degree from National Taiwan University and then immigrated to the United States for graduate school.

In 1961, he traveled across the Pacific Ocean by himself on a freighter boat, arriving in the United States with only the money in his pocket and a scholarship to Rice University.  Roy found work as a part-time draftsman at an oil drilling company and a busser at a Chinese restaurant while studying for his M.S. in mechanical engineering.  After that, Roy earned his Ph.D  in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.

His future wife, Angeli, joined him at Penn State in 1966 to study for an M.S. in chemistry. She was the daughter of Roy’s high school Chinese literature teacher, but it wasn’t until Angeli came to the United States that Roy became a Christian and their 58-year romance blossomed. They married on April 1, 1967. (No foolin’!)

Roy was a research engineer for Uniroyal Tire Company and then Amoco Corporation until his retirement in 1989.  He specialized in high-performance plastics and polymers and was an inventor on ten patents granted by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

Roy is survived by his wife Angeli and two children, Sylvia Chen (Joseph Farley) of Deerfield, Illinois, and Shawn Chen (Alexis Albion) of Washington, D.C., as well as four lovely grandchildren, Jessica Chen, Alexander Chen, Michelle Chen, and Trajan Chen, who made him extremely proud.

Arrangements entrusted to Cappetta’s West Suburban Funeral Home & Cremation Services. 630-852-8000