His family was well off, and his father, a graduate of Shandong Normal University, was a cultured member of the gentry. Fighting against both the Japanese and Communists, Ho's father was often away from home. Eventually, after an ambush, the elder Ho disappeared, and his fate remains a mystery to this day.
何家家道殷實，山東師範畢業的父親，是望重一方的仕紳，因為參加抗日剿共而長年在外，最後慘遭伏擊，迄今下落不明。