Pauline was born in Hong Kong, to Doris & Anthony Chong. Doris was a secretary at The Watson Group and her father was Chief Editor of the South China Morning Post.
Pauline immigrated to San Francisco in 1973 with her husband Mr. Sunny Wong and their infant son Adrian. There, she got a job as the bookkeeper and office manager with SOHA Engineers, formerly Shapiro, Okino, Hom and Associates Structural Engineers. Her second son, Bernard, was born following after.
She remarried in 1996 to her current husband, Mr. Alan Robinson, a structural engineer, who she met at SOHA Engineers. While Mr. Robinson went on to start his own firm Tuan and Robinson Structural Engineers in 1999, Pauline retired in 2014.
While Pauline worked hard at her career, she always made time for her family. Indeed, she remained close friends with her ex-husband and former in-laws. For family events such as vacations and dinners, she and Alan were always joined by Mr. SunnyWong and his family.
Pauline also had a playful spirit. She loved dancing to upbeat music. She enjoyed watching game shows on TV, solving puzzles and playing games of any kind. And she was especially good at card games.
But there is much more to Pauline.
She was a positive and deeply kind person, who remained young at heart. Pauline embodied the motto “It is more blessed to give than receive.” She loved taking care of people and was consistently there whenever anyone needed her.
She was quick to help whether you needed someone to talk to or help with a task. She always had a gift on hand to give to family and friends. Some of you may remember being out for a meal with her where she insisted on picking up the check.
But her kindness did not stop with her friends and family. Whenever she saw an elderly person struggling to walk, she’d pull her car over and offer them a ride. Whenever she saw a street person, she’d go to the nearest convenience store to pick up food to give to them. And her kindness was not limited to people. It extended to any living thing. She even caught and released bugs from inside her home instead of squishing them.
Pauline rescued injured cats, then adopted them after they were released from the vet. She had many cats in the house. She also kept a supply of pet food, water, bowls, and plates in the trunk of her car. Every night after work, she would make the rounds through her neighborhood looking for animals on the street.Whether it was cats, dogs, raccoons, or coyotes, she would pull over and put food down. The last time she left town, she made sure that her street animals were fed. She said, “They depend on me now.”
We will always cherish the time we spent together.
Pauline was always there and was the most caring person in the world. Her memory will live on in all of our hearts forever.
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