Lance Wong

1953 - 2022

Lance Wong
July 25, 1953 - May 8, 2022
Passed away at home in So. San Francisco, from a heart attack, at the age of 68. A native San Franciscan, Lance was the second of two children of Alice and Bryant J. Wong. He attended Marina Jr. High, Lowell High School, and U.C. Berkeley.
Professionally, Lance had been Systems Analyst at NGC Energy, and Computer Coordinator at the San Francisco Symphony. His final position was IT Administrator at ProZyme, Inc. for over 26 years. A friend recalls that "Lance was in charge of handling everything computer and IT-related in the whole building, for all of our employees. I have many positive memories of Lance and remember him being a very kind and helpful person to all those who worked with, and relied on him to keep our computers (and business) running."His self-taught information technology skills provided him a livelihood and a small share of independence that he so highly valued.
Privately, Lance's fascination with personal computers in the 1980s framed his weekends. Friends recall the biweekly ritual of driving down to Fry's or CompuUSA, in San Jose, buy some new device or attachment for the computer, spend all day attaching it to the computer (this was before USB existed), get something to eat, go back to the computer, give up at nine that night, and return to the computer store the next day to get some gadget needed to be attached to the device to make it work with the computer.
Lance was a man of many interests and talents: photography, writing, backpacking, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, fishing, crabbing, literature, film. Lance also had an unparalleled knowledge of "prime time" television programming from 1960 through 1985 (he would have been a good Jeopardy! contestant were he a bit less shy). He was a keen observer with an acute memory. His sharp eye and taste for quality extended to all of his interests. Not outgoing by nature, Lance could still find common ground for conversation with most anyone. He fostered loyal and deep friendships with a handful of people that lasted a lifetime.
Lance's deep and broad knowledge of almost anything paired with his steel trap memory resulted in Lance being the Google of his day for his friends. John Wong, who knew Lance since their days at Marina Jr. High School, worked at the Mandarin Restaurant in Ghirardelli Square in the 70s and 80s. He recalls regularly running to the payphone to call Lance for background on famous guests who came to the restaurant. In almost every instance, off the top of his head, Lance gave some tidbits that were perfect conversation openers.
Survived by his sister, Melissa Renati (Alfred), his uncle, Edwin Lee, his aunt, Eva Chin (Harvey), numerous cousins, and his close friends, John Yen Wong (Betty Sun Wong), Paul DeMarco (Diana), David Chen (Sofia), Daniel Chen (Josephine), Eugene Norman Stuart III (Tim Legerton).
Friends may visit Saturday, June 4, 2022, from 12:00pm – 3:00pm at Duggan's Serra Mortuary, 500 Westlake Avenue, Daly City where a memorial service will be held at 1:00pm. His ashes will be scattered at sea on a later date, to join those of his father, Bryant, and mother, Alice.