Terry Wong

Terry Joseph Wong was born on September 27, 1932 in Buffalo, New York. He was the 6th of 7 children in the family. Terry was born at home; but once his parents saw he was a boy, they raced their first born male to the hospital. Throughout life, Terry would tell this story but always with the note that even though he was the only boy among 6 sisters, Ai Yee, Stella, Rose, Anna, Carolyn and Linda, he did not grow up with a “silver spoon” in his mouth. His father always taught him to “pull his weight” and contribute.

When Terry was 3 months old, the family returned to Nam Hung, May Wah Village in Taishan, Guangdong Province, China to pay respect to the ancestors for finally giving them a son. Terry spent his youth in the village until he was 8 years old,. He enjoyed going to school, climbing trees and playing hide and seek with his sisters. In 1939, World War II forced the family to return to the United States. Terry and his sisters were separated at Angel Island while they were in confinement awaiting re-entry. Anxious and alone in the detention barracks, Terry received a bag of fruits which he figured was from his father. After taking some for himself, he set a portion aside and asked a guard to bring it to his sisters. However, when they were reunited he was surprised to learn the fruits were from his siblings who had sent it to him to begin with - both sides were thinking of the other.

This sort of care and selfless giving would go on to define the family relationship for their entire lives. They spent the next phase of life growing up in Austin, Texas. Living in Texas, Terry would attend school; and along with his sisters, work at their father’s grocery market. He also served in the US Army with Honorable Discharge. Terry received his Bachelor's degree in Physiology and Psychology from the University of Texas in 1959. He continued his education and attained a Masters in Experimental Psychology in 1961.

Terry went on to work for 36 years as an engineer of Human Factors in the Aerospace industry which included Douglas Aircraft, designing studies for NASA and the Apollo program. He also worked for TRW, Honeywell and McDonnell Douglas Corp where he was lead engineer working on the DC-10 and KC-10 Aircraft Programs. Of significance for the KC-10, Terry successfully redesigned the right hand’s boom operator controller to be more usable and functional to properly fit the human hand and even received a special commendation from the US Air Force for his design (the original control was a large, cumbersome, off-the-shelf type model). Terry was also proud to be part various accident investigation teams, including one centered on the 1979 DC-10 crash at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport - to date, still known as the worst aviation disaster in US history. Terry’s final project before his retirement was conducting many tests performing human factors design work for the large C-17 military transport aircraft.

But Saturday, March 6,1965 was the day that Terry’s life completely changed. He met the love of his life, Marie. It was love at first sight for him. He was entranced by her beauty, often saying he could neither sleep nor eat because of her. She was attracted to his intelligence and his strong voice - he would sing classics from Beethoven, Sibelius, and Mozart … show tunes from “Show Boat” and “Oklahoma”… and recite poems from Omar Khayyam to just name a few. The two had a whirlwind courtship. Within one month, Terry proposed in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium. The two said “I do” during lunchtime at the LA County courthouse on August 6th. The couple had their church wedding ceremony November 27, 1965.

Terry was a devoted father to Brian, Michelle and Leslie. He and Marie provided security and were the ultimate examples of sacrifice, hard work, and unconditional love. He was always “Mr. Fix It” - doing repairs at any of the three hair salons they owned or at their rental properties. On weekends, Terry could often be seen in his camo green coveralls as he would change the oil on the cars and do all necessary maintenance.

Terry could never pass up a good deal. He loved to clip coupons and every Friday night, he would load the kids in the station wagon and make the rounds to Fedco, Sears Surplus, K-mart and Target - spending time with the kids while scouring the aisles for unbelievable savings.

Terry was a lover of the arts and a seeker of knowledge. He was an avid reader, enjoyed classical music, science, mechanics, Hollywood, trivia, and his mind was a vault of both interesting and useless facts. He could recite the origin stories of items such as Post It’s and White Out on demand. He was also a builder - he built his own stereo speakers, the shed in the backyard, walnut bookshelves. Terry was a passionate sports fan and cheered on both college and pro football and basketball teams. He was an incredible artist and a avid collector. His shelves are filled with books, magazines (National Geographic, Time and Popular Mechanics were among his favorites). There are stacks of newspapers, vinyl albums, and VHS copies of movies and sports games. Terry also liked to print the internet. His office and bedroom is filled with thousands of Wikipedia entries, interesting articles such as “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”, “JFK’s love letter to Swedish mistress”, and “What is Tom Brady’s place among the 5 greatest QB’s in NFL history”. He printed out text exchanges with loved ones, photos, poetry, song lyrics, and even the recipe of Chick-fil-A sauce.

Terry took pleasure in the simple things of life. A good hamburger. A good conversation. A really exciting football game. A beautiful piece of classical music.

But his ultimate love was family. Terry’s entire life was centered around providing for, protecting, and attending to his family. He was the family photographer - always taking the photos but rarely in them. Terry adored his sisters along with his many wonderful nieces and nephews. He was devoted to his wife, Marie. In his later years and even in his final days, he would sweetly and constantly call her, “My Cutie Pie.” From his hospital bed, Terry would gaze at her lovingly. The room had a beautiful view of the ocean, but all he saw was his lovely wife of 60 years.

Terry was proud of his three children, who he very unbiasedly called “ultra amazing” and “ultra talented.” He was enamored by his five grandchildren, Jadon, Joshua, Kierra, Naomi and Elijah. In fact, he helped raise Jadon and Kiki, babysitting the two during their younger years. There were countless hours spent watching garbage trucks and reading the newspapers. Tuesdays, he and Popo (Grandma Marie) would load up the car with cases of water, snacks, and a 4 course home cooked meal, drive to LA to spend time with the other grandkids. He showed love by paying attention to details like a grandchild’s favorite food, going out and buying those items then giving it to them in multiples. He showed his love by spending time with the ones he cherished.

Terry spent every minute of his time here well. His heart gave out on him at the end, but that’s because he gave all his love away.

Terry passed away on February 27, 2026 at the age of 93. His legacy lives on in his wife, Marie; his three children, Brian (Tina), Michelle, and Leslie (Norm); five grandchildren, Jadon (Diane), Joshua, Kierra, Naomi and Elijah.

His wake will be held Friday, March 20, 2026 at Hua Yuan Hall of Grace 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at 3890 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, CA 90601

His Celebration of Life will be held on March 21, 2026 at 8:45 am at Rose Hills Memorial Park - SkyRose Chapel at 3888 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, CA 90601.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hoag Hospital Foundation or a charity of your choice. A memorial tribute fund is established in honor of Terry Joseph Wong at Hoag Hospital Foundation at 330 Placentia Ave, Newport Beach, CA 92663. Gifts will be designated to the Heart & Vascular Fund where 100% of each dollar goes directly to the cause.