Susan Wong How's Obituary
Susan Wong How was born on October 21, 1930 in Chian Gong village in Canton, China. She was the eldest child of Wong Ching Po and Lum Sui Wah. At the age of 17, she married David King How, a US citizen, in Hong Kong and came to the United States in 1948. Residing first in Oakland and later in San Leandro, they raised five children.
Susan acclimated well to her life in America, taking English classes and learning to cook entrees like spaghetti, broiled chicken, tacos, and stews. She also excelled at Chinese cuisine and her grandchildren especially looked forward to her chow fun and braised chicken feet!
Like many homemakers of her generation, she was kept busy raising her family and providing for their needs. Susan and David hosted many celebrations with great food topped off with birthday cake and ice cream. With five children, birthday parties were frequent.
Susan was known for her extremely clean and orderly home, a trait which unfortunately wasn’t passed down to the next generation. In her spare time, she enjoyed watching sports, especially baseball. She also loved flowers and gardening.
In her later years, she was content with the simpler things in life. She enjoyed being at home and had her morning coffee and toast. She was happy when her children brought food from Burger King, Jasmine, Peking Delight, Hawaiian Grill Express, to name a few. She watched her news and sports programs and took naps whenever she felt like it.
On August 3, 2018, Susan was diagnosed with a minor stroke. After a brief hospitalization, she was transferred to an acute care facility for rehabilitation therapy. She returned home on August 25 but as the week went on, she became increasingly less responsive. She passed away peacefully into God’s presence on Sunday, September 2, 2018 at the age of 87.
A private service was held at Chapel of the Chimes, Oakland on Friday, September 14. Susan will be greatly missed but will continue to live on in the hearts and memories of her family and friends.
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