Pierce Kay Fong

Pierce K. Fong was born on April 8, 1929 in San Francisco (SF) where he lived until well after he was married and his kids were in school. He was the sixth of ten children born to Fong Man Ho and Kwai Jang Leong and was the third of four sons. He went to school at Commodore Stockton Elementary, Francisco Junior High and Polytechnic High School. Although they didn’t know it at the time, his future wife Aimee Chin also went to Francisco Junior High and was in the same class as him, even though he was a year older.

During his youth, he worked as a shoeshine boy, bus boy, grocery store clerk, farm hand and helped in the family furniture store (Tientsin Bazaar) during his youth. During one summer in his mid-teens, he helped load and unload crops of produce on a relative’s farm near Stockton. He said the outdoor work was strenuous but he would eat large breakfasts with milk, eggs, bacon and toast to fuel himself for the day. He reportedly grew one foot that summer and when he returned to SF in the fall, many people didn’t recognize him.

After high school, he went to Healds College where he took drafting classes. Then he was drafted and served in the Army during the Korean War where he was trained as a cook. His brother Ron commented that he was surprised that he became a cook. He just knew that he liked to eat! Anyhow, Pierce was stationed at the Presidio in SF for over a year and enjoyed weekends at home. He seemed to have been overlooked before he eventually was shipped out to Japan and Korea. He was not on the front line but would often see mortar shells landing in front of where he was hunkered down. Once, a medic removed a small piece of shrapnel from his knee but he declined the medic’s offer to put him in for a purple heart because the wound was not very serious. He was honorably discharged in 1953 with a rank of Master Sergeant.

After the war, he worked at the Hunters Point Naval shipyard as a pipefitter, inspector, test specialist, industrial specialist and planner estimator. He met his future wife Aimee and they went on many double or triple dates with friends. He said she shrank into a corner of the car on their first date but eventually warmed up to him. He and his friends wined and dined their girlfriends each week. After several months, the boys asked why the girls never cooked for them. The girls were a bit embarrassed once they realized they took their boyfriends for granted, so they asked when they would like to come over. Pierce said, “How about tomorrow?”. And they did just that.

He married Aimee on September 20, 1959, who would be his wife over the next 62 years. They honeymooned in Monterey and Carmel before settling into a home in the Sunset District on 17th Avenue near Santiago Street in SF. Together, they raised their son Everett and daughter April at that home. Every weekend, they would have dinner at his mother’s house with many local family members. They also would have dinner with Aimee’s parents and her local family members. Every major holiday was celebrated with lots of family, including some traditional Chinese holidays.

When the Naval Shipyard closed in 1972, Pierce moved the family to Northridge in Southern California after taking a defense contract administrator job in Tarzana at DCASR. Pierce and Aimee believed it would be a better place to raise their kids with a larger house in the suburbs. The family thrived in Northridge, made many close friends and got together often with many Southern California relatives and friends. Relatives from the Bay Area would often visit as well. During their years in Northridge, the family enjoyed going to all of the local theme parks, took a 10 day island hopping trip to Hawaii, ventured into Tijuana and Ensenada once and took a trip to Las Vegas with Pierce’s mother.

Eventually, the family moved back to the Bay Area in 1978 to be closer to the majority of their family in the Bay Area. They settled in Belmont, a beautiful city with a small town atmosphere just 30 minutes south of SF. Pierce went to work as a Supervisor of Shipbuilding (specializing in hydraulic systems) at the Alameda Naval Base. He commuted often to Mare Island for a few years as well. He took a few business trips called “sea trials” to be sure the repairs worked properly from the Navy’s subcontractors. One trip required him to go to Australia for a month-long sea trial. Other highlights included getting piped aboard ship, an honor usually reserved for the captain and commander of the ship (he had a civilian rank equivalent to a Lt. Commander). He also once rode in a naval jet that was launched off an aircraft carrier. It was such an adrenaline rush that he didn’t realize he banged his knee on something and only noticed his knee was bleeding after he got off the plane. After a 30 year career in the Navy/Dept. of Defense as a civilian, he retired in January 1988 at the age of 58.

After Aimee retired a few years later and with no children at home, they enjoyed traveling together around the US, Alaska and Canada with Elder Hostel and Globus Gateway tours. They especially enjoyed seeing the fall foliage along the East Coast, many of the beautiful national parks and wildlife and visiting famous places like Branson, MO and Mt. Rushmore among others. They also traveled to Europe and Asia. Of course, they also took occasional group bus trips to Reno where Pierce loved to play poker, black jack and pinochle and Aimee would play slot machines. They enjoyed the buffets, food and shows as well.

They would drive to visit Everett and his family in Rolling Hills Estates, CA and April in Portland, Oregon at least a few times each year. He even went to Legoland with his family and grandsons and to Disneyland and California Adventure for his 80th birthday. Over the years, he and Aimee enjoyed various short trips to Monterey/Carmel, the California Academy of Sciences to celebrate April’s 50th birthday, Alcatraz, a Fong family cruise to Catalina Island, San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico and a visit to the 49ers Museum at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara when he was 89. At the 49ers Museum, he saw a statue and said, “I went to school with that guy (Bob St. Clair). He recollected that he went to the very first 49ers game at Kezar Stadium in 1946! The museum docent was thrilled to hear these old stories and said he lived for visitors like Pierce.

As they were getting older and long drives became more difficult, both April and Everett and his family went to visit them in Belmont more often instead. Pierce was able to drive but eventually decided to stop when he was 89. Eventually, Pierce and Aimee needed more assistance and moved to a nice assisted living apartment in Rancho Palos Verdes in November 2019, near Everett and his family. They would go out for short excursions every weekend with Everett and Linda. April would make frequent trips to see them as well. Unfortunately, after the pandemic began in March 2020, they were isolated for their protection for about 4-5 months. They eventually were allowed to leave with family members but not have guests visit them.

Pierce’s health declined steadily over his last 3 years, but he still maintained his mental abilities. He was comfortable and content in knowing that he lived a very full, long life. He grew increasingly more tired and lacked energy. He was able to see his Golden State Warriors win their fourth NBA championship in 8 years and saw a short video of his grandson Curtis’ college graduation ceremony in May 2022. He passed away peacefully on June 22, 2022 surrounded by his family with his favorite music playing.

Personal Life

Pierce (“Pete” to his siblings and their families) was known as a friendly, easy-going, hard-working man. His brother Ron described him as a “wild child” growing up, but he became everyone’s favorite uncle to his nieces and nephews as well as a very responsible and dedicated husband and father. He loved people, playing cards and mahjong, was an avid Bay Area sports fan (49ers, Giants, Warriors) and loved eating his favorite foods (dim sum, sourdough bread, soups, stews, thick, juicy steaks and of course, Chinese food). He also was an excellent chef who could whip up a delicious meal as fast as any short order cook in the Army. He enjoyed watching cooking shows as well as his favorite soap opera, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, evening news and sports games. He loved being a grandparent and enjoyed a long, happy 62 year marriage to his wife Aimee.

We were fortunate to have him in our lives for so long and are thankful for all he did and glad he enjoyed relatively good health for almost all of his 93+ years. He is survived by his wife Aimee (now deceased), siblings Helen Fong, Sarah Lai, Emily Louie, Dora Chun and Ron Chan, son Everett, daughter April Ann, daughter in-law Linda and grandsons Russell and Curtis. He was predeceased by siblings Larry Fong, Maida Wong, Lyman Fong and Evelyn (Evie) Gim.