Lasting Memories

Zhiwei Xiao
Dec. 14, 1972-Feb. 6, 2024
Palo Alto, California

Zhiwei David Xiao passed away peacefully on February 6th, 2024, after an intense battle with cancer, with family and friends by his side.

A loving father, husband, son, and friend, Zhiwei was born in 1972 in Xiaogan, Hubei, China. As a child, he loved to help out on his family’s farm, learn in school, and spend time outdoors. He was the first in his family to enroll in college, attending Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Tsinghua University, where he met his wife Hongxia. After moving to the United States in search of new opportunities, knowledge, and education, he settled in the Bay Area at the turn of the century, landing a job at Cisco. Zhiwei became a resident of Palo Alto in 2000 and remained in the Silicon Valley technology field for more than two decades. Over the years, his experience in computer engineering led him to Broadcom, Amazon, Zingbox, Palo Alto Networks, and Apple. His dedication, kindness, technical leadership, passion, work ethic, and constant appetite for learning made him an admired and respected colleague.

In his spare time, he loved to travel, spend time with family, traverse the outdoors, watch sports, play basketball, and learn new things. As a father and husband, Zhiwei was devoted, caring, inspirational, generous, and showed unconditional love. He always reminded us that our capabilities went far beyond our imagination, and pushed us to step out of our comfort zones and strive for new opportunities. He acted selflessly, kept every situation positive, and his smile brightened every room he was in. Zhiwei treasured quality time spent with his family, whether that meant a game of basketball in the driveway, a movie night, a day trip hiking around the Bay Area, or an international vacation. He was a firm believer of the quote, “We live because we believe”. Zhiwei will be forever missed and held in our hearts.

Zhiwei is survived by his wife Hongxia, sons Bryan and James, parents, younger brother, and dog Guava.