Mr. Yui Kwan Wong

Yui Kwan Wong was born on January 24, 1965 in Hong Kong to father Wan Wong and mother Wai Ying Ko. He has three sisters, older sister Bertha, younger sisters Eileen and Dorothy. He attended Rhenish Elementary School and Delia Memorial Secondary School in Hong Kong. In 1982, he briefly studied Mechanical Engineering at Hong Kong Technical Institute. Yui grew up in a working class family. Life was simple and happy. Although neither parents had the chance to attend college, they both recognized the importance of education for their children. Therefore, in 1984, Yui's parents decided to move the family to the United States. They settled down in Thousand Oaks, California. Life in a new country was difficult but during these challenging years, Yui learned to persevere and treasure the opportunities that were given to him. In 1990, he graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics with Magna Cum Laude at UCLA. Yui developed a love for Mathematics at a very young age. After graduating from UCLA, he continued his studies at Yale University and received both his M.S. in Mathematics in 1992 and Ph.D. in 1995. During his time at Yale, he met many of his wonderful life-long friends and inspiring professors. It was a very memorable time for him at the University. In 1996, Yui was recruited by the National Security Agency (NSA) and moved to Maryland. He worked as a Cryptologic Mathematician and later on as an Applied Research Mathematician until his passing. To further his skills and knowledge, he studied at Johns Hopkins University and received a M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 2003. Yui had a wonderful time at NSA on a professional level as well as on a personal level. He loved the challenge at work, received many awards for his dedication. More importantly, he had developed many lasting friendships with his co-workers during his 15 years at NSA. These friends are truly an extension of his family. Meanwhile, Yui always had a love for teaching. He continued to teach part-time and was an Adjunct Assistant Professor at University of Maryland, University College from 2001 until his passing. In 1998, he met the love of his life, I-Chen Lin. After three long years of persistent pursuit, Yui and I-Chen married in 2001. They welcomed a wonderful boy, Terrence, into their life in 2002. Terrence takes after his Dad's interest and excels in Mathematics at school. During Yui's illness, I-Chen and Terrence were with him every step of the way, providing him unconditional love, support and comfort. Yui was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2007. With the care and support of his family and doctors, he fought back and won a hard battle against the disease. In 2009, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. Initially, chemotherapy was successful and he was scheduled to have a bone marrow transplant from his sister in January 2012. Sadly, while staying in the hospital to treat a persistent fever, he got complication from a lung infection. He left this world at 11:05 PM on January 1, 2012 at the age of 46. Yui's passing was so sudden and his loved ones were deeply saddened by it. However, his family would like to celebrate his life, the many wonderful imprints of memory that he left in each one of us, and most importantly the legacy that he left behind in Terrence. **************************** Many of you have called or emailed in regards to this tremendous loss, and have asked what everyone could do for Yui's family. In lieu of flowers, if you wish to contribute to help his wife I-Chen Lin and his son Terrence Wong, please send your contributions to 2609 Summer Hill Court, Silver Spring, MD 20904. Thank you for your love and support.