William Ray Woo's Obituary
William Ray Woo, an amazing husband, father and friend, died on February 14, 2023. He was 93 years old.
Born in Shanghai China, he was the third of five children - having an older brother and sister, Jack and Daisy, and a younger sister and brother, Lena and Raymond. “Billy”, as he was known, was a fun-loving, handsome and mischievous man. He was quick with both a smile and a fist.
Billy left China in 1949, moving to Hong Kong and later to Taiwan. He began his long career in the travel industry in 1950 working for Civil Air Transport (CAT), an airline operated by the American government. It was while working for CAT in Taiwan that he met the beautiful Susan, a flight attendant with CAT. They were married in 1954. In 1955, the two moved to Saigon, Vietnam where their son David was born. The three immigrated to the United States in 1958. They settled in the Bay Area and added children Patrick and Sharon.
Billy continued to work in the travel industry and owned Global Travel Service for nearly 30 years. Being in the travel business, it was funny that Billy didn’t like to travel much. In retirement, however, he traveled extensively with his family. For the past 20 years, at least every two years the entire extended Woo family (spouses, partners and grandchildren) would travel together with trips to China, Hawaii and many, many cruises.
Billy and Susan had a large circle of friends with whom they gathered regularly. They were surrounded with friendships that lasted decades. Many members of Billy’s “Speedy Boys Club” from Taiwan also settled in the Bay Area. Billy and Susan and their large group of friends formed the “Joy Walk Club” – a walking and EATING group who met each weekend for a morning walk followed by a large lunch. They also gathered for monthly dinners.
Billy loved watching sports. His favorites were baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis and golf – all both men and women. He was so excited that his granddaughter Katie is a baseball sportswriter. He would call her often with obscure baseball trivia or random questions.
If you asked Billy what brought him the most joy – he would say it was his family. Married nearly 70 years to Susan, she was truly the love of his life. And, he was always so proud of his children and grandchildren who surrounded him with love and humor.
Billy is survived by his wife Susan, his sister Daisy (William), his brother Raymond (Joanne), his children David (Mary), Patrick (Dan) and Sharon (Brian) and his grandchildren Katie, Jerrod and Landyn.
A small family service will be held to honor Billy. He will be interred at the mausoleum at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo.
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