Richard Tong

Richard (Goon Hu) Tong, 92, passed away peacefully at his home while surrounded by members of his family on Saturday, July 16, 2016. Cause of death was leukemia.

Richard was born on January 26, 1924 in San Francisco, California to Ack Yow Tong and Bo San Leong.

He was a member of what journalist Tom Brokaw described as the "the greatest generation any society has ever produced". During his remarkable life, he was a star athlete, a fighter pilot, a father and a financial advisor to some of the most famous personalities in the Bay Area.

Gooney, as he was known to his friends, grew up in Chinatown. As a boy he helped his family through the Great Depression by running a paper route and by roving the back alleys behind restaurants to collect produce dropped by delivery trucks.

He joined the Boy Scouts as a teenager. On a scout trip to Muir Woods, he found a creek so densely packed with steelhead that he could reach into the water, grab a fish and toss it onto the bank. This memory and others like it instilled in him an appreciation for the beauty of Marin, eventually leading him to move his family there.

He later attended Galileo High School, where he was an All-city basketball player. During his senior year, he lead the league in scoring despite having a coach who benched him late in games because he didn't want a Chinese to be scoring champion. His basketball achievements earned him induction into the inaugural class of Galileo's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975.

When the US entered WWII, Richard joined the military. He chose the United States Army Air Corps, because he'd always wanted to be a pilot. Once he completed primary training, he was assigned to Bombardier/Navigator school. Unhappy with this assignment, he went back to the assigning officer and talked him into assigning him to flight school instead. Richard thus became one of the first Chinese American fighter pilots in USAAC history.

After his military service, Richard attended Golden Gate University on the GI Bill, graduating with a BA. He then became a Certified Public Accountant and opened his own firm, Tong & Fong Accountants and Auditors.

Richard laid the foundation for his practice the old fashioned way: by going door to door. No one was too big or too small for him to accept as a client. Eventually all that door knocking landed him a major client, the famous night club, The Hungry i. After landing that account, word of the quality of Richard's work began to spread, and his business flourished. In addition to the Hungry i, Richard's list of clients included, among others, Enrico's Coffee House, The Kingston Trio, The Trident, The Empress of China, American Zoetrope and Lucasfilm Ltd.

In 1950, Richard married Bernice Look, with whom he had two sons. After Bernice's untimely passing in 1955, Richard married Vivian Wong on August 4, 1956. Together, they had a son and a daughter. Richard and his family enjoyed trips to Asia and Hawaii, skiing in the Sierras and spending Thanksgiving Holiday week playing golf in Carmel.

Unable to find a house he liked in San Francisco, and remembering his boy scout days, Richard moved his family to Mill Valley in 1959. There they lived until 1978, when they moved to San Rafael.

During both his personal and professional life, Richard was known to exceptionally generous, kind, and helpful. His clients regarded him as intelligent and professional. He was also a great raconteur with a tremendous sense of humor. These attributes lead to many lifelong friendships and enabled his firm to become highly successful and very well known throughout the community.

Richard is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, Vivian; his sisters, Wini and Ada, his children; Alan, Robert, his wife May, April, her husband Dave, Richard, his wife Sophia, and four Grandchildren; Robbie, Arianna, Haley and Kristin. He was predeceased by his sister Rosemary. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, July 30, 2016 at 10:00 am at Halsted N Gray – Carew & English, 1123 Sutter St in San Francisco. Burial will follow at Olivet Memorial Park, 1601 Hillside Blvd, Colma.

In memory of Mr. Richard Tong, contributions can be made to the following charitable organizations

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, PO Box 4072 Pittsfield, MA 01202

https://donate.lls.org/lls/donate

Blood Centers of the Pacific, 270 Masonic Ave, San Francisco, CA 9411

http://www.bloodcenters.org/donate-blood/financialcontribution/

Chinatown YMCA, 855 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA 94108

http://www.ymcasf.org/donate?kwoAdvocateId=A49FKO6