Henry Chung

Henry W.S. Chung

September 9,1918 - April 23, 2017

Henry Chung, founder of Henry's Hunan Restaurants, passed away Sunday surrounded by four generations of family. He was five months shy of his 100th birthday. Born in a rural village in Hunan province, his early life reads like an old world folk tale—a village wedding at age eight; a near fatal encounter with a one-armed river pirate during the Japanese occupation; marriage to an ambitious volleyball star from a well-off family. In the days before the Communists takeover, Henry, a diplomat with the Nationalist party, managed to secure a posting to Houston, serving only briefly before Mao seized power. Given the choice to return to Taiwan, he elected to stay and build a new life. The next 25 years saw him and his wife, Diana, raising five children while working odd jobs, starting businesses that were often quick to fail, and struggling to make ends meet in the segregated South. It was only in 1974, when the Chungs moved to San Francisco and opened a restaurant serving the rustic, fiery cuisine of their home province, that they achieved success. The New Yorker lauded Henry's Hunan as "the best Chinese restaurant in the world," and the business expanded as more family—including Henry's three children from his first marriage—arrived in the United States. Henry loved his adopted country and the opportunities it offered to those who worked and studied hard. His other loves included thrifting at the Salvation Army, In-N-Out Burger, and his beloved wife Diana, who passed away in 2003. Henry leaves behind children Meng Jiao, Michael, Meng Tao, Stephen, Sophia, Linda, Marty, and Howard; his goddaughter, Gigi Chen; and scores of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren—among them Peter, Winnie, and Sam, who cared for him in his final years. A great believer in the power of education, Henry established the Diana T.Y. Chung Scholarships at San Francisco State University, UC Berkeley, and UC Hastings College of the Law. Donations to those scholarships may be made in Henry's name. A reception will be held May 14, 2017 at 2:00 at Henry's Hunan at 924 Sansome Street. There will be no MSG.