Jack Tong Quan's Obituary
Jack Tong Quan passed away peacefully in his sleep on March 16, 2016, with his family at his side. He was 93 years old. His wife, the former June Marie Chan, passed away in 2010, and he is survived by his children Katie, Barbara (John Chuck), David (Lily), Richard (Donna); grandchildren Eric, Sarah, Michelle, Gina, Kristen, Emily; and great granddaughter Ella-Rayne.
Jack was born in San Francisco on April 12, 1922 in San Francisco Chinatown, and was the first child of Kay Fun Quan of the Nanhai district near Canton, and Fung Lee Quan of the Panyu district. His siblings were Frances, Howard, Thomas, Daisy, Frank, Clair, Virginia, and Sylvia. Jack went to Jean Parker Elementary School, and like many Chinese-American boys of his generation, he went to elementary school in China for a few years. When he returned to the U.S., he attended Francisco Junior High School and Commerce High School, and also studied Chinese after American school at the Nam Kue School in San Francisco.
During World War II Jack was in the U.S. Army, in a segregated unit for Chinese Americans. Because of his bilingual capacity he served as an interpreter, teletypist, and cryptographer in the U.S. Army’s “China Theater. “ Later he attended Stanford University on the GI Bill, obtained a degree in chemistry, and worked at the U.S. Navy’s Radiological Defense Laboratory until its closure. Afterwards he worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital at Fort Miley in San Francisco.
Jack was involved in many civic activities in the San Francisco Chinese community. As a youth he was active in the Chinatown YMCA’s Public Action Committee (PAC), and years later after retirement he continued to volunteer for the YMCA as its director. In the 1970s, as an active member and officer of the Chinese American Institute of Engineers, he led a number of people-to-people exchange trips to mainland China, which was an important prelude to normalization of relations between the U.S. and China. He was on the executive board of the Chinese Culture Center. Later he also served as an active member of the American Legion Cathay Post in San Francisco Chinatown.
As a retiree Jack was more active than ever. He was affiliated with a travel agency and led dozens of tours to destinations in the U.S. and abroad. He also spent time on his lifelong hobby, photography. His photographs of China during World War II were exhibited at UC San Francisco and UC Santa Cruz among other places, and now reside at the Cathay Post.
Family and friends who wish to celebrate Jack T. Quan’s life will gather on Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 10 am at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, CA 94611. Please join us if you wish.
In lieu of flowers, contributions to Jack’s memory may be made to the Chinatown
YMCA at http://www.ymcasf.org/give/donate-now.
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