Memorial service is today for Joong Fang, professor emeritus of philosophy

A memorial service will be held in Mathews, Va., from 6-8 p.m. today, March 1, for Joong J. Fang, professor emeritus of philosophy at Old Dominion University. Fang, who was 86, died in his James Store, Va., home on Feb. 16, 2010.

Fang studied at Yale and Columbia universities in the early 1950s and received his doctorate from the University of Mainz in West Germany. He joined ODU's philosophy department in 1974 after teaching philosophy and math at Memphis State University. He retired in 1990.

A native of North Korea who moved to the United States in 1948 and became a naturalized citizen, Fang was a multilingual Kantian scholar, who wrote more than 30 books on philosophy and mathematics and over 300 scholarly papers in his twin fields of interest. He was also the founding editor of the journal Philosophia Mathematica, and he established his own field of study, the Sociology of Mathematics.

A member of the American Mathematical Society, Fang has been listed in American Men of Science, Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.

He was preceded in death by father, Gab-yung Hwang of the ancient Pyongyang Wae-sung Hwang clan; and mother, Eegab Kim (Ghim). Survivors include two children, Eva Fang of Paris, France, and Guido Fang of Berlin, Germany; and a granddaughter, Alix Baron of Paris.

A gathering with his family will be held in his honor from 6-8 p.m. tonight, March 1, in the Chesapeake Room at Mathews Memorial Library, Main Street, Mathews. All who knew him are invited.

Condolences may be viewed and posted at dailypress.com/guestbooks.