Larry George Wong was born on September 20, 1923 in Radville, Saskatchewan.
His father, King Wong, worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway company cleaning engines in the roundhouse in Radville, and saved enough money to buy and operate a rooming house in Moose Jaw.
When Larry was 10, his father decided to take the family back to China. In July 1933, the family boarded the Empress of Canada steamship. They were housed in a nice cabin and there was just enough room for Larry, his two brothers Martin (12) and Peter (3 months), and their parents. It voyage took some 20 days.
While in China, Larry and Martin attended private school. Their time in China was punctuated by two sad events. Larry’s mother passed away. And, in 1937, the Japanese started bombing the provincial capital which was close to where Larry’s family was living. King decided it was time to return to Canada.
The boys were sent back to Canada; while they were in transit their father passed away. Larry was sent to Abbey, Saskatchewan, to live with a cousin who owned a restaurant. Larry’s brothers were sent to other families in Saskatchewan. The brothers would not see each other again until 42 years later when they met for a family wedding in Toronto.
By 1942, Larry was working in a paper mill at Ocean Falls, B.C. The mill made plywood for the P-38, twin-engine bombers. Later, he moved to Vancouver and worked in a sawmill. He also took a course in diesel engineering and became employed as a second engineer working on a towboat that hauled logs up the coast to the sawmills. He later took on less strenuous work driving a truck for a grocery store.
In 1944, Larry was drafted into the Canadian Army and became a general serviceman. Larry was upset about being conscripted, as he felt the Canadian government discriminated against Chinese Canadians. However, once in the army, his misgivings were forgotten. He did basic training in Halifax, then served in the Edmonton Fusiliers. Later, he was assigned to the Princess Patricia’s regiment. Larry was the only Chinese person in both regiments.
By 1948, Larry was discharged and returned to Vancouver. He and his friend George King purchased a photofinishing business. However, many of its customers took their business elsewhere because the new owners were Chinese.
Larry moved to Toronto in 1952 to get away from the discrimination in B.C. and to be with his girlfriend, Marion Laura Mah. They married in 1953 and Larry took a job as a waiter at Lichee Gardens. He eventually became night manager and also a shareholder in the restaurant. After 30 years of working seven days a week at Lichee Gardens, he was finally given one day off a week. He never complained about the amount of time he spent working and was grateful for having earned the weekly day off.
On October 21, 1955, Larry and Laura welcomed their only child: Teresa.
Teresa would later recall how her father was an avid tennis player. “He played tennis right up until the day he passed away. He entered quite a few tennis tournaments over the years and always did well.” In one tournament, his opponent was former Governor General of Canada, Roland Michener.
“My Dad passed away in his sleep at home on May 26, 2006. It was a very sad day for us and very much a surprise. Although he had a heart condition, he was always active. I am grateful and fortunate to have had him as my parent.”