Dr. Yang Wang specialized in cardiac care and integrity

Dr. Yang Wang overcame long odds to become to a professor and physician in the cardiovascular division of the School of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, where he inspired students and cared for patients for more than 50 years.

As a child in China, Wang experienced several illnesses. With civil unrest in his homeland, he had to attend three institutions to earn his undergraduate degree from the National Medical College of Shanghai.

After he emigrated, he specialized in cardiology at Harvard Medical School, and he later brought his encyclopedic-like knowledge, fortitude and high standards for patient care to Minnesota.

"His influence on our intellectual lives, on our perceptions of integrity and service, and on our recognition of value of thought and analysis have been equally important," said Dr. Jay Cohen, professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Wang died following a stroke April 5 at the N.C. Little Hospice in Edina. He was 85.

His studies at Harvard were interrupted for two years while he served in the Air Force as an internist in the Azure Islands. When he returned to finish his residency, he studied under renowned cardiologist Paul White at Massachusetts General Hospital at a time when catheterization was beginning.

He did research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and joined the staff at the University of Minnesota because the school had a growing reputation in the field of open-heart surgery, said his wife of 43 years, Helen.

"Your husband's expertise and his gifts as a teacher inspired his students and colleagues and greatly enriched our community," University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks wrote in a letter he recently sent to Wang's wife.

Wang was active in the local Chinese community and was a member of the University of Minnesota's first delegation to China to explore a scholarly exchange program. He also taught at universities in China and was a mentor to Chinese scholars who visited the University of Minnesota.

He loved the music of Wagner and liked to travel, study history and go hiking and downhill skiing, his wife said.

In addition to his wife, Wang is survived by son Dale, of Boulder, Colo.; three daughters, Cynthia Wang, of Denver, Jennifer Wang, of Fort Collins, Colo., and Heather Wang, of St. Paul; brothers Jinzhi Wang, of Bejing, and Jinyi Wang, of Changsha, China; a niece raised as part of the family, Yin Li, of Houston, and four grandchildren.