Ding D. Wong

Ding Wong, 90 of Delano, California, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Friday, January 28, 2017 at Hoffman Hospice Center in Bakersfield, California.

Memorial Service will be at Delano Mortuary, on Friday February 24, 2017.

Ding Wong was born on January 18, 1927 in Canton, China. He immigrated to the United States at the age of seven with his father Bing Wong and resided in Dunsmuir, California. Life was not easy then, even at such a young age he had to help his father in his laundry business. A few years later, they moved to Delano, California, where Ding attended Delano High School. He enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of seventeen to serve his country during World War II, and received a gold and silver service medal for his participation in the Pacific Theater. Ding was honorably discharged in 1946 and he returned to his hometown in China, where he met his future wife Mary. Because the political climate in China was unstable in 1947, they decided that the United States would offer a better future for them. So in 1948, they moved to Seattle, Washington to be closer to relatives and job opportunities. Ding found work in his brother Charles' Golden Pheasant Noodle Company. They purchased a home and eventually had three children: William, Richard, and Susan.

He later worked at Chinese Kitchen Restaurant for a few years. A couple of years later, Ding was offered a partnership in his uncle Gin Wong's restaurant the Pagoda Cafe in Delano, California. Ding ran the restaurant and rented out adjacent buildings for a number of years. Eventually, he acquired sole ownership of the business and continued until his retirement in 1988. Ding enjoyed watching football and basketball on his days off and visiting family and friends.

Ding is survived by his wife Mary, two sons, William and his wife Sophie, Richard and his wife Nora, and daughter Susan and her husband Steve: six grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Thanks to Hoffman Hospice Center in Bakersfield, California for their loving care and support and to Delano Mortuary in Delano, California for the arrangements. Special thanks to Pat Pascua and her family for giving all their love, kindness, respect, and care to Ding in his later years.

Services entrusted to Delano Mortuary, a Dignity Memorial Provider.