Sui L. Fong, 84, passed away peacefully on Monday, August 2, 2010, at Brookline Fairways Home, State College.
Born in Hong Kong, China, on May 16, 1926, she was the daughter of the late Sik Que and Yee N.C. Hong, of Reading. Sui attended school in Hong Kong up to the 11th grade, an unusual achievement for a girl in China during that time period. When the Japanese invaded Hong Kong in 1941, she and her family had to move to the Taishan region in Southern China to avoid the conflict, but encountered famine and hardship. After World War II, she later returned to Hong Kong to continue 11th grade. In 1948, Sui married Lim Fong whose family also lived in the Taishan region and sailed to America as a G.I. bride of Lim, who served in the Pacific Theatre of the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1946. Eventually, Lim and Sui worked with her father and brother, Chee Hong, in the restaurant business, but then moved to Pottstown, in 1957 to open a laundry that would become a familiar downtown landmark. The Fongs became naturalized citizens in 1954. For more than 30 years, Lim and Sui operated Fong's Laundry, washing, pressing, and folding thousands of shirts, sheets, uniforms and other items for six to seven days a week. Assisted by their children, the couple often worked tirelessly 10-12 hours a day. Their clients included local prominent business owners and executives of major manufacturers such as Firestone Tire and Bethlehem Steel and banks. Sui also operated a gift shop in the same location for nearly two decades. Lim and Sui were always proud that all of their three children were first-generation college graduates.
Among her hobbies, Sui enjoyed Chinese calligraphy and classical literature, cooking, gardening, sewing, knitting, and crocheting. For most of her life, she was a master seamstress, making many beautiful clothes for her daughters, her granddaughter, and herself.
After retiring in 1990, Sui and Lim moved to State College to help care for their granddaughter, Harley, for over a decade in the Stonebridge neighborhood. Sui reveled in being "Pau-Pau" (Chinese name for grandmother) and enjoyed their games and outings. She created many outfits including treasured Halloween costumes for her granddaughter. Sui and Lim had one son, the late Jack Fong, of Fairfax, Va.
Surviving are her husband, Lim; two daughters, Sandy, of Brooklyn, N.Y., Vicki and her husband, Greg Grieco, and their daughter, Harley Ngai Grieco, of State College; one brother, Chee Hong, of Wyomissing; and his four children, Edward and his wife, Joyce, James and his wife, Yung, Nancy Labricciosa and Linda Kummerer, and a total of 12 grandchildren. Also surviving are a sister-in-law, Ivy Chow, of Astoria, N.Y. and her daughter, Doris, of Auburndale, Mass.; a nephew, Eugene Ngai, and his wife, Peggy, and their two daughters, of Whitehouse Station, N.J.; a nephew Ken Hores, of Branchburg, N.J., and a brother-in-law, Mee Wong and his children, William, Robert and Kelly.
Friends and family will be received from 1-2:30 p.m., Friday, August 6, 2010, at the Koch Funeral Home, State College, followed by a memorial service there led by the Rev. Larry Louder. Private burial will be in the Boalsburg Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Koch Funeral Home of State College.
Memorial contributions can be sent to Centre Volunteers in Medicine's Dental Program, 2520 Green Tech Drive, State College, PA 16803, or the Schlow Centre Region Library, 211 S. Allen St., State College PA 16801.