Wan Wong

Wan Wong was born on October, 16, 1926 to father, Wah Hop Wong and mother, Sui Ying Lau in the village of Shek Moon, Zhongshan County, Guangdong Province, China. He has an older brother Tim Sing Wong and a younger sister, Sai Kwan Wong.

During the early years in China, Wan took up the responsibility of supporting his family. After the War of Liberation in 1948, he moved to Hong Kong where he worked in the garment industry. During the mid-50s, he became a sailor in the Merchant Marine and traveled to various places including Australia, South Africa and South America. His experience as a sailor exemplified the Chinese proverbs "Reading ten thousand books is not as useful as traveling ten thousand miles." In his years of traveling, he had the opportunity to encounter many different cultures and traditions, and these experiences left a lasting impression on his life. There was a large world map prominently displayed in the family room to serve as a constant reminder of all the wonderful places that he visited.

In 1960, he married Wai Ko and settled in Kowloon, Hong Kong where he continued his tailoring career. They have four children together, Bertha, Yui, Eileen and Dorothy. In 1984, Wan and his wife decided to move the family to the United States so that their children could pursue further educations and greater opportunities. He lived in Thousand Oaks, California for over 30 years. During that time, he also saw his family expanded to include daughter-in-law, I-Chen, grandson Terrence and son-in-laws, Huy and Wayne.

Wan enjoyed reading the daily newspaper. Soccer was his favorite sport, and he was a big fan of the World Cup. He also enjoyed watching tennis matches and would closely follow tennis related news and developments on TV and newspaper. Most of all, he loved spending his leisure time playing mahjong (a popular Chinese pass-time game) with his son-in-laws and family friends.

After a brief illness, Wan left this world peacefully on April 4, 2015 at 10:10PM at the age of 88, surrounded by family. Although Wan's passing was so sudden and his loved ones were deeply saddened by it, his family would like to celebrate his life and the many wonderful memories that he left in each of us.