Martha Nyet Kyau Wong

Martha, or “Marty” as known fondly by family and friends, was born on February 22, 1931, in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was the third youngest child of James Mau and Kim How Koon, part of a large family of four sisters and three brothers. She was given the name Martha by her parents in honor of Martha Washington whose husband, President George Washington, shared Marty’s birth date. She graduated from McKinley High School in Honolulu and ventured to California, spending time in Los Angeles before moving to the Bay Area to pursue a bachelor’s degree in education at San Jose State University. While at school she met Nang F. Wong, whom she married in 1953. The couple celebrated their 69th anniversary July 5 of 2022, before Nang’s death that December.

Marty and Nang settled in San Jose after college where they had two children. She later returned to San Jose State to earn her master’s degree in education, fitting study into her busy life as a teacher and mother. She was proud to be the first Asian American teacher hired by the San Jose Unified School District in the 1950s. Though it wasn’t always easy to be accepted in this role, she persevered and soon became an important contributor to reading excellence under a new program of media centers in the school district. In her later career she became a respected “teacher of teachers,” helping to establish and train young educators in Santa Clara Valley’s public schools.

Most knew Marty as a supremely generous individual, always energetic and ready to host a gathering. She organized countless family birthdays and holiday events. During her family’s formative years in the 1960s, she and Nang were the consummate couple, with frequent dinner soirees and cocktail parties shared with their inner circle of 10 Asian American couples. Annual trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe brought this group together for dinner shows and fanfare that epitomized the freedoms that were part of modern West Coast living. Marty continued to enjoy entertaining family and friends throughout the years, encouraging everyone with plates of chow mein, fruit salad, and homemade cheesecake. Her festive gatherings will be missed dearly by family and friends.

Marty is survived by her two children, Peter Wong and Lesley Kyono, and their spouses, Pamela Grundy and Tracey Kyono. She has three grandchildren Melanie Kyono, Brent Kyono, and Parker Wong.

Donations in honor of Martha N.K. Wong can be made to the following organizations:

Delta Kappa Gamma International Educators Foundation:

https://www.dkg.org/DKGSI/About/DKGIEF/Ways_to_Contribute/DKGSI/DKGIEF/Ways_To_Give.aspx?hkey=918e0ce6-032f-42a3-9ccd-69dc5ab8e492

East Side Education Foundation:

https://www.eastside-fund.org/scholarships

Raising a Reader:

https://raisingareader.org/