Jack Min Woo's Obituary
Jack Min Woo was born on Oct 20, 1934 in Tai Shan, China. He was the 4th of 5 boys in his family.
When Jack was 14 years old, he was sponsored by his uncle and immigrated to San Francisco, CA. From about age 16, Jack regularly sent money to support his 2 brothers and their families in China for the next 50 years.
In 1955, Jack joined the United States Army and served 3 years active duty in Germany assigned to the 2nd Armored Division, 78th Artillery Field Battalion. George Patton Jr gave the 2nd Armored Division the nickname “Hell on Wheels” because he said enemies would face hell if they encountered the 2nd Armored Division.
Jack served 2 additional years in the Army reserves and received an honorable discharge with rank of Specialist-4 in 1961. Jack earned several Army commendations, including expert firearms marksmanship.
In 1959, Jack met Shirley Yim at a social gathering in San Francisco’s Chinatown. They began a beautiful three year courtship and were married in 1962. Jack and Shirley had three children: Christine (deceased), Perry, and Jennifer; and two grandchildren: Jonathan and Marissa.
Jack was a wonderful husband and father who engrained discipline in his children as well as the virtues of honor and respect so they were always thankful to live in (and serve) America.
Jack had many talents having experiences in the restaurant, auto mechanic and construction field, but he found his calling as a licensed Architectural Door & Hardware Consultant and started his own business in 1978, National Door Control, which successfully operated for the next 22 years. Jack worked hard and was proud of the fact that he was the only Chinese-American owner in this field during this timeframe.
Jack was a devoted advocate and Chinese community leader in Oakland, San Francisco, and in China. His leadership sustained and enhanced funding academic scholarships for generations of Chinese students both in the U.S. and in China. In addition, Jack often directed fundraising activities for China disaster relief efforts and other charities.
Jack was a self-taught gourmet chef and connoisseur of good food. His dishes were carefully prepared from start to finish and were delicious too!
Jack’s presence will be deeply missed but his love, care, and recipes will live forever. We salute this man of honor.
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