Antonio Foo Yan

A devoted father, grandfather, and husband, Antonio Foo Yan, passed into the heavens on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, at the age of 90. Born in Manila, Philippines (then a US territory), to a Filipina mother and Chinese father, Antonio and his older brother and mother were sent to reside in southwest China, in the town of Taishan, where he lost his mother at the age of 3. His father was a merchant marine in the Philippines and fought alongside Filipino and American soldiers in the Philippines during WWII. Without his father and mother during the war, Antonio was sold with his older brother as child laborers to work in a northern province farm in China. After the war, his father returned to China and was able to retrieve his sons with the assistance of local authorities.

After the communist take-over of China in 1949, Antonio escaped by way of Macau to Hong Kong and became an apprentice cobbler. Antonio had a humble beginning repairing shoes from a sidewalk stall on Fuk Lo Tsun Road in Kowloon City. Fortuitously, it was there that he met his first wife, Siu Lau, who resided on the same street as a live-in nanny. They later married in 1959 and saved up enough money to lease a small storefront to sell and repair shoes. Antonio, with his entrepreneurial spirit, leased out half of the storefront to a tailor shop while his growing family (2 daughters and son) lived behind the shoe store in a 100 square foot room.

Antonio and Siu Lau immigrated to Los Angeles in 1974 with his 3 young children, with the express intent to provide better future opportunities for them. Antonio took English classes at Evans Adult School in Chinatown, worked as a cobbler during the day, and as a bus boy and waiter at night. Antonio was a “people person,” always friendly and outgoing. He was curious about people and made fast friends wherever he went, despite his limited English. An avid fan of soccer and basketball, he also loved to play pick-up games at the local park. After the passing of Siu Lau in 1989, he later met and married his loving second wife, Muoi Lieu, in 1991 who has been unwavering in her loyalty to stay by his side for over 32 years.

Antonio was the proud and doting grandfather to three grandsons, Brandon Yan, Tyler Yan, and Thomas Von Willer; enjoying visiting and seeing them grow. Antonio is survived by his wife Muoi Lieu, his three children Lily Yan Hughes, Mimi-Diana Yan, Frank Yan, his son-in-law Jimmy Hughes, daughter-in-law Jennifer Yan, and his three grandsons.

A funeral service for Antonio F. Yan will be held on Saturday, August 19, 2023, 1-2 pm, at the Memorial Chapel in Rose Hills Memorial Park, 3888 Workman Mill Rd., Whittier, California 90601; (562) 699-0921. Memorial Chapel is the first chapel right after the Rose Hills’ main gate. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared with the Yan family at www.rosehills.com/obituaries.