"My mother was fearless. … That fearlessness helped her to come to the U.S., acclimate to a totally different culture, and thrive." - Leisa Ling-Bleicher, youngest daughter of Ruby Yuan-Ling



The late Dr. Ruby Yuan-Ling with husband, the late Dr. Ping Chung Ling, before the couple left China. CONTRIBUTED

“She was only 25, and I was about 2,” said Stella, who lives in California. “She went through medical school when she was very young and still had pigtails. China needed doctors. They thought we’d be going back to China, not realizing the Communists were going to be staying. But things changed.”

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Although they had discussed a return to China, Yuan-Ling was afraid, and they stayed. She returned once, but “I could not find my birth home or any of the familiar places,” she wrote.

“Because they were trained overseas, they were only allowed to take licensing exams in a few states, and Ohio was one of them,” said Audrey Ling, their second daughter and Xenia resident. Eventually, they both found work in Greene County.

Leisa Ling-Bleicher, the youngest daughter and also a Xenia resident, said, “My mother was fearless. … That fearlessness helped her to come to the U.S., acclimate to a totally different culture, and thrive.”

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Her husband was chief of anesthesiology at Greene Memorial Hospital when he died in 1975, while she was a pediatrician in Beavercreek from 1961 until she retired at 84.

During the 1980s, “after President Nixon opened relations with China, she was able to bring 19 family members from China to the U.S., something she’d wanted to do for many years,” said Audrey.

“She sent them money, sponsored them, taught them to drive, ferried them to English classes, sheltered them and helped them find jobs,” Stella said.

Dr. Ruby Yuan-Ling, longtime Beavercreek pediatrician, who fled China in the late 1940s with her husband and daughter. CONTRIBUTED

Although they weren’t members of his church, both of the Lings’ memorial services were performed by the Rev. John Lockwood, pastor of Bethel Community Church in Xenia. “I knew her husband from the hospital,” Lockwood said. “I’d be doing visitations and ran into him two to three times a week, and he wanted this little Kentucky preacher to do his service.” On Jan. 7, he also conducted Dr. Yuan-Ling’s service.

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“She was a joy and an unusual woman; there was nothing she wouldn’t try. She bought a farm and would don her straw hat and get on her tractor. A man who had worked the farm got up during the service and told the story of how this little woman outbid big farmers for the farm she wanted,” Lockwood said.

“She loved nature and especially the farm,” said Stella. “She would hop on her Massey-Ferguson (tractor) to mow or work in the yard planting flowers and trees.”

Leisa said that former patients attended the memorial service: “Over the years, a number of people have told us how my mother either saved their child or diagnosed their child’s illness when no one else could.”

Her husband, Ray Bleicher, said, “We were always hesitant to walk anywhere around Beavercreek with her. Walking just a block would take half an hour, because people would stop her, saying they or their children were taken care of by her. Even handymen who came to the house would recognize her and start talking about their experiences with her.”

“She was a wonderful role model for unconditional love,” said Audrey, “and she’s still teaching me.”