Ming Ts Lai

Ming Ts Lai, 84 of Kent, passed away on Sunday, March 26, 2023, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Taichung, Taiwan, on October 18, 1938, to the late Chin Chang Lai and Dong May Wang Lai.

He attended military law school before matriculating to National Taiwan Normal University where he received his B.A. in Education in 1965. While attending college, he passed the military law examination to become a military lawyer. After graduation, he was appointed as the Head of Curriculum at Taipei Municipal Dazhi Junior High School and served for 3 years.

In the summer of 1968, Ming immigrated to the United States to attend Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State University) and earned his M.A. in Counseling Psychology in 1970. In 1975, he completed his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Oklahoma and moved to Ohio to begin his career. For the next 5 years, he was Head of the Evaluation Department at Weaver School, CSBMRDD (Tallmadge). From 1980-2011, Ming practiced as a Clinical Psychologist at Blick Clinic (Akron). He took pride in his work and in his staff at Blick, where he served as Day Treatment Program Supervisor, Psychology Supervisor, Clinical Program Director and Clinical Education Supervisor during his 31 years of service.

Throughout his career, Ming was also a consultant, specializing in autism, Prader-Willi Syndrome, traumatic brain injury and intellectual disability. He provided services to Robinson Memorial Hospital (Ravenna), Hope Home (Akron), Vista Center (Lisbon), REM Ohio Inc. (Independence) and Independence of Portage County, Inc. (Ravenna) until he retired in 2011. He led psychology and education conferences and provided teacher training services in Taiwan and China until 2019.

Ming was a proud member of the American Psychological Association, Ohio Psychological Association and American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. He was known for his dedication to his clients and commitment to research and discovery of new treatments.

In his youth, Ming was an entrepreneur and an outstanding baseball pitcher. He loved golf and fishing, which were only exceeded by his mental exercises of reading, writing and researching autism. He was the author of Diagnosis and Treatment for Children with Aberrant Behavior, published by Psychological Publishing Co., Ltd., New Taipei, 2000, and was awaiting the publication of his second book. He was a lifelong learner and believed in positive psychology, the extraordinary strength of the mind and the importance of unconditional love.

He valued family, education and experiences; his greatest passion was traveling around the world, especially in the company of family and friends. He loved watching his grandchildren play tennis and being together at Disney. He will be remembered for his infectious smile, generosity and insatiable passion for helping others.

Ming was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Ming E Lai and Ming Ping Lai. He is survived by his wife Liyun Wu Lai of 54 years; daughter Alice (Mark) Platt; son Albert (Jennifer) Lai; and grandchildren Max Platt, Abigail Platt and Evelyn Lai.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at 10:00AM at Bissler and Sons Funeral Home, 628 W. Main St., Kent, Ohio.

Donations in Ming’s name may be made to: Autism Society of Greater Akron, 580 Grant St. Akron, OH 44311 autismakron.org or to Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board Attn: Fiscal Dept. (Individuals with Autism), 2355 2nd Street Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221.

Services in Care of Bissler and Sons Funeral Home and Crematory, 628 W. Main St. Kent, OH 44240.