(The following text is an excerpt from the book Chinese Americans in Irvine 1971-2021.)
Catherine Yi-yu Cho Woo was an accomplished poet, composer, painter, teacher, and writer. She was the first Asian American woman to serve on the National Council on the Arts and had been honored by the National Endowment for the Arts with an appointment as an Ambassador for the Arts.
While Yi-yu Cho began her formal training in art and calligraphy in Beijing, her family moved to several cities in China and finally to Hong Kong in 1949. One benefit of living in several places as a young person was that Yi-yu Cho could speak six dialects of Chinese. She was well known for being able to determine the native dialect of people she met after hearing them speak just a few sentences, and then making them feel at ease by speaking to them in that dialect.
In 1953, a young Yi-yu Cho sailed for the United States on the S.S. President Cleveland to begin her studies in architecture at the University of Illinois in Urbana-
Champaign. After meeting and marrying architect Peter Woo at the University of Illinois in 1957, they moved to San Diego, California. Yi-yu stayed home for ten years to raise their children, Paul and Cindy.
When Cindy started school, Yi-yu picked up her books again, completing degrees in Interior Design and Art History from San Diego State University (SDSU),
studying Chinese literature and language at UCLA, and earning a doctorate from the University of San Francisco.
During this time, she also studied the art of Feng Shui with His Holiness Grandmaster Thomas Lin Yun Rinpoche of the Yun Lin Temple in Berkeley, California.
Yi-yu Cho taught for more than 30 years at SDSU. She has won numerous awards for her teaching, including 1988-89 SDSU Outstanding Professor, 1990-91 SDSU
University Research Lecturer, Distinguished Professor of Chinese, and 1995 Phi Beta Kappa Lecturer. In May 2005, she received an Asian Heritage Award for Achievement, Contribution and Legacy in Art, Philosophy and Literature.
Yi-yu Cho was the rare artist who can address both scholarly and mainstream audiences. She authored more than 10 books in Chinese and English on Chinese
literature, art, and culture. Her collections of poems have been well received internationally, and one, "Tian Tian Tian Lan," was made into a popular song that was a number one hit in Taiwan. It remains one of the most popular songs among the Chinese speaking population.
Aside from her university work, Yi-yu Cho has spent many years serving the broader community. For six years, she served as the Commissioner for Arts and Culture for the City of San Diego, California. She was appointed by President Bush to serve on the National Council on the Arts from 1991 through 1996.
Since retiring from active teaching in 2002, Yi-yu Cho has accepted numerous invitations to give lectures and exhibit her work in museums and art galleries all over the world. In May of 2007, Yi-yu Cho lectured at Beijing University and then traveled south to attend a major exhibition of her work at the Zhu Hai Museum.
Yi-yu Cho and her husband Peter Woo moved to Irvine in 2006 to be close to their grandchildren. She continued to participate in cultural events locally and
around the world. She also managed to compile her rich family history into an English photo book so her grandchildren and great grandchildren can learn more about Chinese history and culture. Yi-yu Cho passed away in August 2021. (Courtesy of the Woo family)
Yi-yu Cho and her family gathered in 2015
卓以玉與胡百昌夫婦 2015 年全家福
多才多藝的卓以玉是學者、詩人、畫家，她精通風水堪輿，曾設計珠寶，也能作詞譜曲。而她最廣為流傳的作品，就是隨手寫下的一首情詩「天天天藍」，1982 年起由潘越雲唱紅，傳遍華語世界，迄今仍歷久不衰。
生在北京的卓以玉，出身名門，家學淵源。在書法家祖父卓定謀（君庸）啟蒙下，從小背誦古文、練習書法。受到表姑林徽因的影響，卓以玉留學美國時，選擇到伊利諾大學主修建築，與建築師胡百昌結婚後，遷居聖地牙哥，育有一子一女。
兒女上小學後，卓以玉決心完成因家庭而中斷的學業，在聖地牙哥州立大學（SDSU）先後獲室內設計學士及藝術史碩士，並自 1968 年起在聖地牙哥州立大學擔任中文講師。後來她繼續深造，取得舊金山大學雙語多元文化教育博士，曾任聖地牙哥州大亞洲研究中心主任、中國研究所所長，主管該校中國語文課程30 餘年，並獲頒聖地牙哥州大傑出教授獎。
卓以玉定居聖地牙哥時，經多方協調和運作，促成中國大熊貓和金絲猴到聖地牙哥動物園駐展，成為吸引遊客的鎮園之寶，並自 1988 至 1993 年擔任聖地牙哥市文化藝術委員會委員，繼續推動中美藝術文化交流。
1991 年到 1996 年卓以玉獲布希總統任命為美國國家文藝委員會（National Council on the Arts）委員，是繼貝聿銘之後，第二位獲此殊榮的華裔。國家藝術委員會是國家藝文基金會（National Endowment for theArts）的顧問團，負責與全美各地的藝術團體合作及撥款。1996 年她獲美國國家文藝委員會任命為文化藝術大使，堪稱是最符合卓以玉畢生努力目標的頭銜。
卓以玉於 2002 年自聖地牙哥州立大學教授職退休，2006 年因子女的緣故而遷居爾灣，她曾應邀到北京大學圖書館、清華大學、中央研究院等地演講，2007 年並在珠海市舉行首場中國內地畫展。
卓以玉定居爾灣期間，除了參與本地藝文活動之外，花了很多時間編輯整理她的家族歷史及作品，2010 年由聖地牙哥州大 Montezuma Press 出版中英對照《卓以玉的詩與畫》（The Arts of Catherine Yi-yuCho），2015 年又與花城出版社合作，出版中文傳記「天天天藍：當代才女卓以玉」（李民牛著）。
卓以玉於 2021 年 8 月因高齡在兒子家中去世，當時她的老伴胡百昌已因癌症辭世六年，她有六個孫兒女及五個曾孫，卓以玉特別為他們編印了英文家譜畫冊，希望他們經由家族血緣進一步認識現代中國的歷史與文化。（蕭迪玉撰文）