Arthur Wong

Arthur Wong, age 92, of Chicago, passed away peacefully with family by his side, on February 26, 2025. Art was a loving father of two children and three grandchildren, an entrepreneur, a competitive sailor, and husband to Elaine Chong Wong for 51 years. Art was born in Chicago's Chinatown as the youngest of five children. In his youth, he was an athlete and boy scout and ran a photography business with his brother. Following in the footsteps of his brother, Warren, he signed up for sailing lessons at the Chicago Park District and found his lifelong passion. At age 16 he proudly won the "Foremost Skipper of 1949" of the Rainbow Fleet. That was the start of sixty plus years of competitive sailing. He completed the Chicago to Mackinac race more than 25 times, placing first in his class in 1978. Among his wide circle of friends were many sailors. Art graduated from Ripon College in 1953, where he was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha fraternity (now known as Theta Chi). After decades working at Prudential Insurance, Art embarked on several entrepreneurial ventures as a second career, including founding Rock Bottom Restaurants & Brewery and Old Chicago Pizza. Art was a member of the Board of Directors, and later the Board President, of the Chinese American Service League (CASL), a social service agency serving the Chinese community in the Midwest, for more than a dozen years. Part of his legacy at CASL including securing funding for the CASL headquarters building on Tan Court in Chinatown. He and Elaine were the Golden Lion Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award recipients by the agency. He is survived by his beloved children, David Wong (Wai-Sinn Chan) of Chicago, Melissa Aagesen (Larry) of Ann Arbor, Michigan, three grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.