Harold Wong

Harold Y. Wong passed peacefully on October 7, 2025, at the age of 91, the proudest husband, father, and grandfather. Born in 1934, during a turbulent time, Harold joined his family in Sacramento as a teenager and fully embraced the promise of America. Through his powerful work ethic and self-reliance, he supported himself and graduated from Sacramento High School. During these high school years, Harold refined an appreciation for the elegance of mathematics, the musicality of language, the precision of drawing and drafting, and the possibilities created through higher education. These passions fueled his eventual career in engineering.

Harold faced a crossroads upon graduation. He decisively chose friendship and the ideals of America by enlisting in the U.S. Army and proudly serving for two years. He returned to Sacramento after an honorable discharge and pursued his dreams of higher education at Sacramento City College and Sacramento State University.

Harold moved to Silicon Valley to join the nascent telecom industry and worked hard to develop new professional skills during a time of rapid change. He nurtured his relationships with close friends and family in Sacramento through frequent visits, driving his beloved white Chevy II whose bright blue interior still pops to life in photos seen today. On one such trip, Harold met his wife Catherine under the romance of a beautiful Autumn Moon. Their loving marriage and young family together transformed their lives and the lives of future generations.

As devoted parents, Harold and Catherine raised their children, Thomas and Carolyn, on a foundation of faith, loyalty, integrity, generosity, and kindness. Their home in San Jose, at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains, became a hub for colleagues from engineering and nursing, extended family from near and far, and the neighborhood activism necessary to make a community vibrant. Harold and Catherine delighted family and friends with their famous backyard barbeques, and overseas visitors from Hong Kong still fondly recall family vacations to local beaches and national parks. Because of their shared commitment to education, these trips also always included visits to college campuses.

Harold wholeheartedly cultivated his community life by joining golf, bowling, and tennis leagues and enjoying the tranquil camaraderie of fishing. He cared for his friends and family both here and abroad by helping to build institutions for the continuity of education and the recognition of family and tradition. He spearheaded the reunion of his mother, brother, and sister in Sacramento, where a third generation continues to prosper.

After a 30-year engineering career during which rotary-dialed phones became the internet, Harold chose to retire from AT&T, which had absorbed the Western Electric identity Harold loved most. Over those many years and corporate permutations, Harold declined opportunities to move back East and down South because those locations held no meaning for him. Most importantly, Harold and Catherine did not want to leave their extended family and friends in the Bay Area, nor uproot their children’s education.

Retirement was a joyful time for Harold and Catherine. They continued to travel the world and across the U.S. to satisfy their zest for learning and exploration and to revel in their growing grandchildren, Gabriel and Allegra, while passing along their life lessons. At home, Harold maintained his professional connections as an active member of AT&T Pioneers and Sons In Retirement, and he served his community in Cupertino as a patient and gentle volunteer, assisting his parish with finances, completing income tax returns for the elderly, and testing the hearing of newborn infants.

Time brought change, of course, but before it became too cumbersome to travel, Harold was proud to bring his grandchildren to the gravesite of his father. Harold greeted mornings with vigorous physical activity such as a brisk walk or meditative Tai Chi, followed by favorite home-cooked meals paired with coffee and newspapers, and occasional rounds of golf well into his 80s. He cherished his conversations with loved ones, and this summer’s comparisons between his youth and the youth of his grandchildren brought laughter to the house and radiant sparkles to his eyes.

This past August, family and close friends celebrated Harold and Catherine’s 60th wedding anniversary. As the Autumn Moon illuminated their dance that evening, those gathered witnessed in Harold the elegant trajectory of his choices in a life well lived.

Harold is survived by Catherine, Thomas, daughter-in-law Anne Simone, Gabriel, Allegra, Carolyn, son-in-law Tommy, brother Paul, and sister Helen. He is preceded in death by his brother Yeung.

His funeral Mass service will be held at St. Joseph of Cupertino with his burial at Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery on October 25.

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