Rose Chin Hong's Obituary
Rose Chin Hong, 86, of San Mateo, California, passed away on April 23, 2026, at Kaiser Permanente San Leandro, due to complications following surgery, surrounded by loved ones. She was the wife of the late Jack Lan Hong for 51 years.
She was born on May 17, 1939, in Oakland, California, to Chin Pak Yick 陳伯釴 and Tso Mee Shew 曹美秀, and was given the Chinese name Chin Joong Sen 陳仲仙. Rose grew up in a large family with her older sister Mabel and younger brothers Allen, Dennis, Fred, and Jimmy, as well as nine older half-siblings from her father’s first marriage. Those early years in Oakland, with backyard chickens, simple celebrations, and roller skating around the block, shaped her lifelong resilience and practicality.
Rose attended Lincoln Elementary School and Westlake Junior High before graduating from Oakland Technical High School in 1957. She went on to study executive secretarial skills at Oakland Community College and took tailoring classes, proudly sewing many of her own clothes. She later attended San Francisco State for a semester of general education courses before the death of her father in 1958 led her to leave school and begin full-time clerical work for Alameda County.
In her early years, Rose worked with the Alameda County Health Department and the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office. She was introduced to the love of her life, Jack Hong, at a house party in Oakland. They married on March 18, 1963, and she was warmly welcomed into the Hong family by Jack’s parents, the late Hong Hock How and Chu Tui Goon. They began their life together in an apartment on Jackson Street in San Francisco Chinatown, where Rose worked as secretary to the president of the Bank of Trade. In 1964, Rose and Jack moved to the Highlands neighborhood of San Mateo to raise their family, drawn by newer Eichler homes and
proximity to her brother Edward’s family.
Rose and Jack welcomed their daughter Carole in 1965 and son Kenneth in 1967. Rose devoted herself to creating a stable, loving home while Jack’s work often took him out of town. Weekdays were filled with caring for the children, taking them to swimming and basketball practices, and managing the household; weekends revolved around swim meets and sports, visits to grandmothers, potluck dinners, and games of Mahjong in San Francisco and Oakland.
As the children grew, Rose returned to part-time work, first with Morrison Travel and then with several local travel agencies, where she helped with reports and office operations and quietly became the family’s travel expert.
Her work in the travel industry opened the world to her family. Rose and Jack traveled extensively and took Carole and Ken on a cruise to Alaska, a whirlwind bus tour through eleven European countries, and memorable trips to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China in the late 1970s, when bicycles and blue uniforms filled the streets. She returned to China on multiple occasions, but one particularly special trip was made with her mother to reconnect with relatives, and she proudly watched as extended family emigrated and built new lives abroad. Rose also earned her cosmetology license from Don’s Beautician School in San Mateo, happily cutting, perming, and styling hair for Jack and many relatives over the years.
Professionally, Rose was as steady and hardworking as she was at home. She worked as a bookkeeper, administrator, and business partner in Jack’s financial services business, which spanned tax preparation, business accounting and bookkeeping, real estate, and personal financial and estate planning. Once her children were out of the nest, Rose surprised many by becoming an enthusiastic advocate for healthy living, sharing KM and Tonic health supplements with friends and family. The once quiet Rose found a new voice in wellness advocacy; rather than building a business, she used her position to ensure those she loved had access to the health products she believed in.
For over 30 years, Rose was the backbone of her daughter's optometry practice, Family Vision Care and Vision Therapy, managing everything from payroll and benefits to many of the back-office operations with unwavering dedication from its inception until her passing.
Above all, Rose will be remembered for her quiet strength, resourcefulness, and steady love for her family. She navigated a strict upbringing, financial uncertainty, and the challenges of Chinese Exclusion-era discrimination with determination and grace, while giving her children opportunities and experiences she never had.
She cherished time with her grandchildren, watching them play basketball and other sports; maintained long-standing friendships from junior high school and the Foster City Chinese Club; and continued to care for her mother and later for Jack during their illnesses. She remained fiercely independent, living on her own in her home of over 60 years, continuing to drive, and exercising daily right up until her surgery.
Her legacy lives on in the extended family she nurtured, the many adventures around the world she shared with them, and the life she built as a third-generation Chinese American in Oakland and San Mateo.
Rose is survived by her daughter, Carole Lisa Hong (John Glenn Low) of Foster City, CA; her son, Kenneth Jeffrey Hong (Agnes Le Yuan Gao) of Malvern, PA; her grandchildren, Collin, Caitlyn, and Camryn Low, and Spencer, Miles, and Alexander Hong; her brothers, William Chin and Dennis Chin (Mildred Tom); her sisters-in-law, Diane Quan, widow of Morris Chin; Jack’s sisters, Mary (Gene Lee) and Lily (King Fong); Jack’s sisters-in-law, Marie Chu, widow of Larry Hong, Liane Wong, widow of Paul Hong, and Helen Chen, former wife of Paul Hong; and many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband, Jack Lan Hong; her parents, Chin Pak Yick and Tso Mee Shew; her brothers, Bruce (Elsie Siu), Harry, Hammond, Edward (Estelle Dong), Morris, Henry (Sriphen), Allen, Fred, and Jimmy Chin; her sisters, Edith and Else Chin, Mary Bufton (James Bufton), Helene Hall, and Mabel Fong (Johnny Fong); and Jack’s brothers, Larry and Paul Hong.
A celebration of life will be held on Friday, May 22, 2026, from 12:00 to 2:30 p.m. at Skylawn Memorial Park, 888 Lifemark Road, Half Moon Bay, California. A reception will immediately follow; details will be provided at the service.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Foster City Chinese Youth Group (FCCYG), now known as the Peninsula Asian Youth Group (PAYG). Donations may be made via Zelle to PAYG73, or by check made payable to FCCYG and mailed to:
FCCYG
c/o Carole Hong
351 Boothbay Avenue
Foster City, CA 94404
What’s your fondest memory of Rose?
What’s a lesson you learned from Rose?
Share a story where Rose's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Rose you’ll never forget.
How did Rose make you smile?