Bao Rong Hu

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Our beloved mother, Annie Bao Rong Hu, has peacefully gone to be with the Lord at the age of 89 years and ten months. She passed away on April 19, at 1:57 am local time in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Mom was born in June 1936 as the first child in a young Christian family of nine in Harbin, during the era of Manchukuo (满洲国).

At the age of two, her father (our grandpa) responded to God’s calling to serve. A Western missionary recommended that he pursue theological training in Shandong, prompting the whole family to move to Huang Xiang in Shandong (山东黄县，今山东省龙口市), where he studied at the North China Baptist Theological Seminary (华北浸信会神学院).

After the Pearl Harbor incident, all Western professors and staff were arrested and placed in concentration camps, while the students had to return to their home regions. Our grandpa went to Mohe (漠河) in the far north to serve as a church pastor, where the family witnessed the defeat of the Japanese and the sweeping arrival of the USSR Red Army in Manchu, followed by the outbreak of civil war. In 1946, our grandpa decided to leave Mohe and travel south on foot, accompanied by church members and their families. The journey took almost four years, during which my mom lost her mother and five of her siblings, leaving only Our grandpa, the youngest brother, and herself.

A week after arriving in Shanghai, the city was taken over by the PLA. Unable to continue farther south, the family settled in Shanghai. Mom began regular schooling at the Baptist Middle School (上海市北郊中学), but her admission to high school was denied due to the family’s lack of working-class (劳动人民) background. Eventually, the family found that the only available school was the China Christian Worker’s Home (中国基督教传道人修养院). At that time, the Home was joined by various institutions to form the Shanghai Spiritual Training Theological Seminary of the Church of Christ (上海灵修神学院). And it was there that Mom met our Dad.

In 1957, Mom married our dad shortly before the school was ordered to shut down. Together, they moved to a major refugee area in northern Shanghai established during the civil war. They took over the Gospel Center (which had been founded by Western missionaries) and served as pastors until in 1959, when the center was ordered to shut down and they were sent to a factory to participate in the political reform movement through labor (劳动改造).

Mom’s early life was marked by war and displacement, but she was deeply inspired by missionaries from many nations who served refugees as medical workers and in other roles. From an early age, she expressed to missionaries her desire to become a medical worker or doctor, serving others if God opened the door. God’s goodness opened paths beyond imagination. In the early 1970s, as the Cultural Revolution came to an end, she was selected and appointed by the factory to study full-time as a medical student in a hospital. After completing her training, she returned to the factory as a medical worker (厂医), serving thousands of people.

After retiring in the late 1980s, China changed dramatically, and in the early 1990s, Mom and Dad emigrated to Canada, marking a dramatic shift in their lives. The calling remained though, and they returned to China annually for mission work. From Northeast ( 东北） to Yunnan （云南）, they traveled extensively, making many trips to rural areas. During these trips, Dad preached and taught, while Mom served as a medical worker. These were the most joyful and exciting times in their lives.

Mom had a unique life journey—from pastor’s daughter to pastor’s wife, and finally, pastor’s mother, a role she cherished deeply.

Soon, Mom will take one last trip to China, joining Dad in his hometown where together they will await the LORD’s second coming. 

Visitation will be held at Tubman Funeral Home Garden Chapel, 3440 Richmond Road, on Saturday, April 25, 2026 from 4:00pm to 6:00pm.