Well, heck, I just finished editing my great-grandpa's obituary. To keep tabs on it for the long haul, I'm going to just paste it here. Family history seems like something I want to hang on to so tightly with both hands. It so rarely gets written down.
Gerald Gong Loh
August 19, 1924 – December 30, 2008
Gerald Gong had, in his own words, a good life. His 85 years were filled with a large loving family, friends who were like family, great success in business, sportsmanship, and world travel. He embraced life with determination, enthusiasm and a clever mind.
Gerald was born in the village of Ping San, Fah Doh, Guangdong Province, China. He and his sister Anne Toy were the only children of Toy Sheong and Jun Yun.
At the young age of 8, Gerald immigrated to the United States with his father. He lived in San Francisco where he attended school and was active in the Chinese youth baksetball league, where he played forward. When he wasn't at school or baksetball, he worked at the Woey Luey Guey restaurant where he met the love of his life, Mary Fan.
Gerald worked at a meat market in Visalia, California in 1938-39 where he was introduced to the butcher trade. Returning to San Francisco in 1940 he returned to school and continued in what was to be his career in the meat and grocery industry. He moved to Tulare, California in 1942 where, along with several partners, he took over an existing meat market. Gerald was a leading member of the Central California Grocer’s Association.
In 1943 Gerald and Mary were married; they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary this December.
In 1944, their first of six children, Genevieve, was born. Soon thereafter, Gerald joined the United States Army. He served in the 96th infantry and trained as part of a Browning Automatic Rifle team he was aboard ship headed for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. He became part of the Occupation Forces and was transferred to the 50th Air Corps where he worked as a photographer and a chef in Japan until his discharge in 1946.
Returning to his family and his business he saw both grow dramatically over the years. Geralyne, Steven, Terri, Geary and Andy were all born in Tulare. In 1950 a grocery business was added to the meat market and in 1959 Gerald became sole owner of the Palace Market. In 1963 the Palace Supermarket was constructed and a few years later its success stimulated the construction of G&T Drugs operated by his nephews, David and Albert Toy. In 1995 a much larger operation, the Palace Food Depot was established.
Gerald’s first love was always his family but he had many other interests as well. Gerald was a great sportsman. His interest in Basketball never faded, as he rarely missed a game on television. An avid golfer, he played as a founding member of the Tulare Golf Club. He was also a skilled fisherman and embraced the opportunity to go on many grand fishing trips throughout the world.
Gerald was also a philanthropist. As a founding member of the Central California Chinese Cultural Center located in Visalia in 1990, he was a generous contributor, President ("Captain") and board member for over a decade. He served as a director of Fah Doh family association in San Francisco gaining the appointment for his business acumen and well known good character. Gerald was also involved for years with the Tulare County Farm Equipment Exposition, the largest in the world, by providing food services. As a member of the Kiwanas, he carried out charitable work in Tulare. After his first trip back to China in 1986, he developed a love for revisiting his birth country and eating lichee in summertime. He also contributed to the construction of a new school for his village in China.
Gerald succumbed to cancer after a lengthy battle. In addition to his wife, and 6 children, he is survived by 10 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. He will be greatly missed.
Children:
Genevieve Cheu and her husband Dudley of San Rafael
Geralyne Gong and her husband Mark Taylor of San Leandro
Steven Gong and his wife Jun of Tulare
Terri Larson and her husband Tom of Clovis
Geary Gong and his wife Kathy of Tulare
Andrew Gong of Tulare
Grandchildren:
Jason Cheu and his wife Anne of Novato
Adrianne Canfil of San Leandro
Derek Cheu and his wife Debbie of Brooklyn
Amy Larson and her husband Brian Steves of Portland
Ryan Larson of Las Vegas
Erin Taylor of Las Vegas
Eric Gong of Tulare
Sara Gong of Tulare
Brittany Gong of Tulare
Jordan Gong of Tulare
Great grandchildren:
Kaylee Cheu of Novato
Owen Steves of Portland
Kellen Cheu of Brooklyn
Clark Cheu of San Novato
In lieu of flowers the family request that donations be made to:
Chinese Cultural Center
500 S. Akers
Visalia, CA
Fah Yuen Assn
San Francisco
