Jack Gong Wah Cheung

Jack Gong Wah Cheung was born in China near the city of Guanghzhou on September 23, 1934. He was the fifth child of seven brothers and sisters. His parents where killed during the Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 to September 9, 1945) and was separated from the rest of his immediate family.

At the age of 14, he traveled on a freighter to United States and was raised by his uncle along with his wife and three children in Los Angeles. Later he met his future wife Mil Goon and got married on March 23, 1958. They eventually resided in their present home in Monterey Park in 1962, raising their son and daughter.

Jack was a loving, caring responsible husband, father and grandfather. Throughout his whole married life, he always took care of the family materially, emotionally, and physically. He had always worked hard all his life. Even after retirement at the age of 55, he remained active. He was not the kind of person who just watch television all day or spend time purely socializing.

Jack was a sheetmetal worker who truly enjoyed this trade for some 35 years manufacturing commercial signage. He enjoyed working with his hands and was very handy in virtually any type of home repair: painting, tile laying, brick laying, indoor and outdoor plumbing, concrete work, roofing, electrical wiring and much more. He also did automobile maintenance like oil changes, brake replacements, and tune-ups when cars where simpler. He even replaced vacuum tubes of our early television sets. Jack considered himself a craftsman on anything he did around the house. His workmanship was always on par with professionals or even better.

After retirement, Jack enjoyed golfing, traveling, gardening and spending time with the family. Like all of us, he did have shortcomings, especially impatience and criticism. His criticisms was really his way of showing his love for the family to motivate them to improve and better themselves.

Even though Jack never became a servant of Jehovah God, he did studied the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses over 35 years ago for several years. He always supported his wife, especially after her baptism, to take her to the weekly meetings, assemblies, and conventions. He many times sat with her at the assemblies and conventions. He also drove her to the Kingdom Hall for meeting for field service.

Jack deeply loved his family. He always planned for the future and did what he reasonably could to take care of the family, especially his wife in his later years. He was always willing to help the family in whatever way when they truly needed help.

His is survived by his beloved wife, Mildred, son Baxter and wife Elizabeth, daughter Nina and husband Frank and two grandsons Scott and Nicholas. He is deeply loved and will truly be missed by all of the family.