On December 11, 2013, the OSU College of Pharmacy lost a student and dear friend, Mai Li Kross, to injuries sustained in a tragic incident involving a fall. Mai Li will be deeply missed by her pharmacy family here at the college and beyond. Faculty and students want to remember her and to honor her passing. Classmates and faculty attended a private service with Mai Li’s family on December 14, 2013. The following article originates from conversations with her father who generously shared memories of Mai Li’s life with us.
Mai Li was born in Tucson, AZ on November 20, 1982. As the child of an Air Force officer, she was accustomed to a life of travel. She lived on military bases in Arizona, California, South Dakota, Alaska, and the Philippines. She loved traveling to Hong Kong to visit her mother’s family. She also enjoyed visiting family in Australia.
Mai Li graduated from Kodiak High School, on Kodiak Island, Alaska. She received an academic scholarship to the University of Alaska in Anchorage where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Journalism. After college, she worked briefly in advertising until she decided to pursue a career in pharmacy. Mai Li moved to Oregon and attended Oregon State University where she took the required undergraduate science courses necessary to apply for the pharmacy program. She entered into the College of Pharmacy professional program in 2011 where she made many friends and was loved by all. Mai Li dreamed of becoming a great pharmacist.
Mai Li came from a family with a rich history in the pharmacy profession. Her great-grandfather was a professor of pharmacy at the University of Toledo and both of her paternal grandparents were pharmacists. Her grandparents met in pharmacy school when her grandmother asked to purchase a textbook from her grandfather. He agreed to lend it to her as long as she returned the book herself. This exchange led to their courting and eventual marriage. In 1933, her grandfather earned the highest score ever recorded for the pharmacy boards—until 2002. Her father’s older brother was also a pharmacist, working in research for Astra Zeneca. She also has a cousin in Australia who is a pharmacist.
Mai Li dearly loved the people of Alaska. She was a prolific photographer and her father tells of her passion for photographing the Alaskan people as well as the Northern Lights. Her father remembers family excursions to far beyond city lights, out into complete darkness where the best views of the northern lights can be found. Mai Li loved those special outings. He also remembers fishing trips in Alaska where they used 50-fathom gill nets that would be so dense with salmon they would sink. They would have to haul the nets in, hand-over-hand, bringing up their catch of fish. Mai Li was also an accomplished artist, with a particular talent for Chinese calligraphy. Additionally, she was a talented musician. Her father remembers her propensity to master one instrument, before quickly moving on to the next. She was skilled at playing piano, guitar, clarinet, flute, and saxophone.
Mai Li loved the Chinese culture, especially the Chinese cuisine. The Dim Sum traditional breakfast fare and the Cha Shu Bow pork bun were some of her favorites. She was an accomplished cook in her own right and enjoyed preparing all kinds of food for her friends and family.
Mai Li has three brothers. Her older brother, Braden lives in Atlanta, GA and her younger brothers, Bo and Joe, live with her father, Patrick Kross, in Montana. Mai Li’s mother, Shuet Mui Owen, lives in Kodiak, Alaska with her stepfather, George. Mai Li’s ashes were taken to her beloved Hong Kong where her family scattered them on the ocean.
A memorial video created by Mai Li’s classmates can be seen here.