CLARA YU

RICHMOND, Va. — Clara Yu, 77, died Jan. 1, 2026, while traveling on a cruise in the Caribbean with her beloved husband, John Deppman.

Clara was born into an unsettled world in Chongqing, the “wartime capital” of China. She was the third daughter in a family of five children, at a time when her parents had hoped for a son. She was tiny, only four pounds at birth, and her malnourished mother took her to the shore of a tributary of the Jialing River, intending to feed her to the water as a charitable act of a quick death. However, Clara cried loudly at the critical moment, attracting the attention of a passing doctor who gave her mother a duck egg to keep her alive.

Despite these challenging beginnings, Clara was deeply loved by her parents and siblings. Her intelligence was evident early on as she taught herself to read at the age of six after declining (somewhat to her mother’s relief) to attend the first year of school.

Eventually, the family moved to Taiwan, and Clara was enrolled in school, where she found she flourished in an academic environment. She went on to study in the United States and to earn her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. Clara built her career in higher education, spending much of her time at Middlebury College as a faculty member, Vice President and Director of the Language Schools and Schools Abroad, and the founder and Director of the Center for Educational Technology.

In 2001, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation convened a summit on “Technology in Liberal Arts Colleges” to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing liberal arts colleges in the new century. Presidents, chief academic, financial, and information officers from 44 residential liberal arts colleges came together for this meeting. As a result of its brainstorming sessions, the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE) was born, and Clara was appointed as NITLE’s first director.

During the summer of 2005, while enjoying her first year of retirement, Clara received a call from the president of Middlebury College, asking her to visit the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Calif., (MIIS), as the college was considering an affiliation with MIIS, which led to its eventual acquisition. Clara took over the presidency of MIIS in January of 2006 and navigated the merger of the two institutions.

Clara married John Deppman in 1997, and they shared a life rich with adventure, friendship and mutual devotion. They formed lasting friendships in Monterey during Clara’s presidency of the Monterey Institute of International Studies, in Fort Myers, Fla., where they spent many happy years at Pelican Preserve, and most recently in Richmond, Va., where they moved several years ago.

For all her remarkable professional achievements, Clara was never happier than when she was doing something for someone else. In quiet, personal ways, she took great joy in supporting and providing for others.

Clara approached life with deep reflection and personal conviction. She was vibrant, funny, loyal and generous to a fault. While her death leaves her family heartbroken and wishing for more time, they take comfort in knowing how fully she lived, how deeply she loved, and how intentionally she engaged with the world around her.

In addition to her husband, John Deppman, Clara is survived by her three sisters, May Yu Tsao of Wisconsin, Hsiang Yu Pan of New York, and Alice Yang Yu of Taiwan; and by her ten nieces and nephews, Linda, Lani, Carol, Naikang, Hsulin, Cynthia, Kai, Peter, Leonard, and Julia. Her parents, Xi-Lai Yu (father) and Xu Shu-Jin Yu (mother) predeceased her, as did her older brother James Zhao Yu.

She is also survived by John’s children, Ann Deppman (Vance DeBouter), Hsiu-Chuang Deppman (Jed Deppman), and Benjamin Deppman (Lesley); her 10 stepgrandchildren, Victor, Kenton (Aubrianna), Alden, and Jack DeBouter, Formosa (Francesco) and Ginger Deppman, and Jack, Lydia, Calvin, and Josie Deppman; and one step great-granddaughter, Liana. Her stepson, Jed Deppman, predeceased her.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that those who wish to honor Clara’s memory perform small acts of kindness in whatever way feels meaningful to them. ◊