Thomas Look Eng

1916 - 2024

"Thomas" Look Eng
May 3, 1916 - July 2, 2024
"Thomas" Look Eng, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on July 2, 2024. He was 108 years old. He was born on March 3, 1916, in Taishan province (Hoisan), Guangzhou (Canton), China. He immigrated to the United States in 1940, following his father, Sam Tow, who had already established residence and a business in San Antonio, Texas. Early on he was known as "Tom" by family, friends, and the business world. This was the name he took on from the English school when he first arrived in the US. Later he would lovingly be called "Grandpa" by all who knew him, including all his customers. He was a lifelong restaurateur. His first restaurant was Sam Woo Cafe located on East Commerce Street near downtown San Antonio. The property was acquired to be part of highway 281 in the mid-1960s. His next restaurant venture was Tom Eng's Food To Go on West Avenue which opened in 1969. Three years later, the business expanded to a full-service restaurant called Golden Gate Restaurant in the same location. After the passing of his wife, Ching Lin, in 1980, he started remodeling another restaurant. In1982, he opened Panda Inn Restaurant located at 2201 Harry Wurzbach Road which remains open today.

He was a lifelong member of the Hip Sing Association. He was an officer of the local chapter and attended many national meetings as a representative of the San Antonio chapter. He enjoyed traveling to the national meetings. Whenever he was on vacation and there was a Hip Sing chapter in the area, he would visit that chapter and support it with a personal gift. He enjoyed meeting and visiting members from other chapters. He enjoyed hunting early on but in the later years he excelled at fishing. Fishing was his passion. He loved gardening, growing fruits, vegetables and flowers. He did some foreign travel and enjoyed new places and experiences. He was an avid reader of books and newspapers until his eyesight failed him. He was a kind and gentle man and a wonderful father. He wanted the best for his family and taught them how to achieve this through his example of an incredibly strong work ethic. His life experiences made him a delight to listen to as he told stories of the old times.

Thomas Look Eng was superseded in death by his father, Sam Tow, wife, Ching Lin, and his son-in-law, John Liu. He leaves behind his children: daughter, Susan Liu, son, Arthur and wife, Pamela, daughter, Mabel Eng and husband, Don Humphrey, and sons, Ginther and Victor. He also leaves behind grandsons, Jason Liu and wife, Kristy, Jeffrey Liu and wife, Brittany, Samuel Eng and wife, Angela. He was blessed with great-grandchildren, Katie, Amanda, and Jessica Liu; Jacob, Alexis, and Jonathan Liu; Emilia, Sophia, and Etzio Eng. The humble life of this 108-year-old is impossible to encapsulate in a few brief paragraphs. Just know that besides being a successful businessman, his greatest accomplishment was that he was loved not only by the family that he cherished, but by his employees, customers, and all who knew him.

Visitation will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, July 12, 2024, at Mission Park Funeral Chapels South located at 1700 S.E. Military Dr. S.A. TX 78214. Funeral Service will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, 2024, at Mission Park Funeral Chapels South with interment to follow in Mission Burial Park South.