Sylvia Chan Wong

Sylvia Chan Wong, 96, of Davis, CA, passed away peacefully on June 19, 2026, at her home in Davis, surrounded by her loving family.

Born on November 2, 1929, in Peking, China. Daughter of Isabell Liao and Ying Wing Chan. Sylvia and her sisters came to the United States at the outbreak of WWII and would go on to make great contributors to their communities and country.

Sylvia attended University of California, Berkeley, and graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematical Statistics. While at UC Berkeley, she met her future husband Robert (Bob). They had settled in Berkeley, later in Palo Alto, and then moved to Davis in 1961 when Bob was transferred to the CalTrans office in Sacramento. They built a wonderful life and home filled with warmth, faith, and laughter together.

Sylvia was a stay-at-home mom until 1981, opting to spend time raising her children and supporting them during preschool, elementary and through high school. She was a dedicated mother who never missed a school play, music recital, ballet recital, or a chance to remind her children how proud she was of them. Her grandchildren knew her as "Grandma," and she treasured every moment spent with them, babysitting, or at many family gatherings.

Sylvia rejoined the workforce after the children were grown, spending the final chapter of her career deploying data systems for the Employment Development Department (EDD) and the Franchise Tax Board (FTB). She loved her work, creating friendships and impressing both peers and supervisors with her work effort, dedication and always joyful and pleasant demeanor.

Sylvia was an expert seamstress, proudly creating work suits of fine craftsmanship and enduring style, as well as creating ballet tutus for her daughter Roberta, to support her dream to become a professional ballerina.

Sylvia was a devoted member of St. James Catholic Church for over 50 years, where she humbly served as a lector for 22 years. Her faith was strong, instilling Christian values in her family and being a faith leader at home. She saw to it that all her children and her husband were baptized in the Catholic Church.

After her retirement, Sylvia traveled with her husband to Europe and South America, but her passion was serving her family, her community and her church. She would spend many more years being a volunteer at the Sutter Davis Hospital, where she earned her 1000 hours service pin.

She loved learning the piano as a child and leaves this world with many happy memories, to join husband Bob and sisters Connie, Cynthia, Anna, and Theresa.

She is survived by her sister, Loretta of Hong Kong; children, Lawrence Wong and wife Cindy Wong of Cupertino, Christopher Wong and wife Cathy He of Dublin, and Roberta Wong of Indianapolis; her two grandchildren Theresa Wong, Phillip Wong; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be at Smith Funeral Home in Davis on Thursday July 16, at 6:00pm. Funeral service will be held on Friday July 17, at 7:30 AM at St. James Catholic Church in Davis.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in her honor to St. James Catholic Church, 1275 B Street, Davis, CA 95616.