Elizabeth &Quot;Betty&Quot; M. Wong
July 10, 1920 — February 16, 2011
Send a Sympathy Card
Past Services
Visitation
Funeral Service
Interment
Elizabeth &Quot;Betty&Quot; M. Wong
She leaves a legacy of Boston Chinatown history.Betty was born Elizabeth Holden Kwong Yut Moy on July 10, 1920 in Boston, daughter of a noted leader in the Chinese community, Moy T. Dow who was hailed as "mayor" of Chinatown. As a teenager, after her father's death, Betty moved to interior China with her mother and several of her siblings.Thanks to efforts of Boston friends, she attended school in Hong Kong where she experienced the Japanese bombings and occupation. She was able to journey to Kunming, Kook Gong and Shanghai working with U.S. SOS (Services of Supplies, later incorporated into the 14th Air Force).Her spirit of adventure never ceased, even as she returned to Boston after the war where she worked as a bookkeeper for the New England Watch Repair Company and also as a hatcheck girl for the China House Restaurant which was frequented by numerous politicians and famous actors performing in the nearby theaters.Before her marriage, she biked with friends in 1952 throughout Europe visiting England, France, Italy and Scandinavia.In 1954, she married and shortly after moved to Melrose with husband Bob to raise their family.
As a mother, she nurtured curiosity and interest in the arts in her children and enjoyed reading. In Melrose, she helped start the Camp Fire Girls Club, was a Girl Scouts leader, a member of the Melrose Universalist Unitarian Church, and bowled with a local league.For many years she volunteered in Chinatown tutoring English to Chinese speakers and worked part-time as bookkeeper with the Asian American Civic Association multiservice center.She won gold medals in the Boston Senior Games, loved to play the slots at casinos, took part in many Volkswalks regionally and even on international trips, and continued her love of traveling by visiting every continent except Antarctica.
Funeral Service at the Robinson Funeral Home, 809 Main St, Melrose on Wednesday, February 23 at11:30 AM.Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours on Tuesday from 4-8 PM.Interment in Wyoming Cemetery, Melrose.Contributions in her honor may be made to the Asian American Civic Association (AACA), 87 Tyler Street, 5th Floor, Boston MA02111.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Elizabeth &Quot;Betty&Quot; M. Wong, please visit our flower store.
Past Services
Visitation
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
4:00 - 8:00 pm
Robinson Funeral Home
Funeral Service
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Starts at 11:30 am
Robinson Funeral Home
Photo Gallery
Guestbook
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
