Obituary

Wei Yang “Joann” Wong, 54, of Bloomington, Indiana, died peacefully on May 27, 2026 with family at her side. Being a private person, Joann chose to share her stage 4 cancer diagnosis with immediate family only. She was born January 31, 1972 in Taipei, Taiwan to Mao Cheng Wong and Wen Chen Huang.

Joann spent her childhood in Taipei. After earning a bachelor’s degree at Fu Jen Catholic University and her master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater She worked as a journalist for Formosa Television (FTV). She then moved to the U.S. to attend graduate school, earning a Ph.D. in Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill as a Park Fellow. At UNC she met her future husband, impressing him with her intelligence and passion for research when they collaborated on a group project.

Joann served as a professor of journalism at Texas Tech (2005-2007) and Indiana University-Bloomington (2007-2010). After the birth of her second child, she stepped back from her career to focus on family, becoming a chef of healthy meals, and enabling Casey and Kelton to pursue many opportunities and experiences. Her own passions included playing tennis several times per week year-round, practicing martial arts, and learning French via in-person and online classes. Joann enjoyed music and instilled that love in her children from an early age, even playing classical music for them during her pregnancies. Additionally, Joann volunteered and worked with local private and public schools to help international students and their families. She drew comfort from meditation, focused breathing, and Buddhist practices and philosophy.

Joann is survived by her husband, Michael O’Connell, and their two children, Kelton Wong O’Connell and Casey Wong O’Connell; her mother; her brother, Wei Tzer Wong; her sister, Wei Pyn Wong; and many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her brother, Wei Lin Wong; and her father.

Memorial Service: Friday, June 12, 2026, at 3 p.m. (U.S. Eastern) at the FAR Center for Contemporary Arts, 505 W. 4th St, Bloomington, IN 47404. The service was live-streamed on YouTube.

Cards and condolences can be physically mailed to:
The O’Connell Family
c/o Indiana Green Burials
PO Box 11
Connersville, IN 47331
United States of America

Or electronically mailed to:

Contributions may be made in Joann’s memory to the Monroe County Public Library or to funds supporting her children’s education. View contribution information here.