Yau Kwan "Betty" Lo Wong

Our mother, Yau Kwan “Betty” Lo Wong, passed away on Monday, October 19, 2020, after a sudden and brief illness. She would have turned 70 next year.

A memorial graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, October 24, 2020 at Westover Memorial Park with the Rev. Dr. J. Andrew Menger officiating. The family will receive friends at the graveside from 10:30 AM until service time and also following the service.

She was born in Hong Kong on August 9, 1951, the oldest daughter to King Ming Lo and Lin Tai Chung. She grew up in a small flat in a crowded apartment building; among her favorite memories as a young girl was her grandfather treating her, his special granddaughter, to dim sum, then later being among the crowd of teenage girls wearing miniskirts and screaming wildly when the Beatles visited Hong Kong.

She married her husband, Charles, after a whirlwind of letters and photos crisscrossing the Pacific, immigrating to the U.S. and Augusta in 1972. She soon became the mother of five children, but continued to work on her citizenship, becoming a proud U.S. citizen in the late 1970s.

After taking English classes at First Baptist Church of Augusta, she soon became a proud working mother too, training to become a hairdresser, then later a waitress at restaurants such as Yin Yin, Ming Wah and Ming Yat, where her customers were like her family. After Charles passed away in 1990, as a single mother, she worked even harder to provide food and schooling for her children, who all went on to earn college degrees.

Then there was that smile. Everyone who knows her will always remember her with a smile on her face. She was happiest making sure anyone in her home had enough to eat—and left with a bag of goodies besides. Any visitor might also be greeted by the sight of her digging in her garden, planting the colorful tropical flowers that she enjoyed and the Chinese vegetables that she cooked into flavorful dishes like winter melon soup or stuffed fu gwa (bitter melon). Her specialties though were her hot and sour soup, ho see song (oyster stir fry), gai dang jeng ju yoke (steamed egg) and egg custard pie (dang tat)—we loved them all.

She retired, but then went right back to work, preferring to stay busy rather than stay at home. But she continued to garden, including growing a flourishing indoor garden of bamboo. She also enjoyed other adventures, such as being an extra in Clint Eastwood’s film The Mule (she’s in the award scene in the first 10 minutes).

Her children will cherish all their memories of their mother, including how she always signed her notes: Mother Betty Wong.

She was a kind, loving soul, who often gave without return, and she will be loved and missed forever.

She leaves behind her children Carla Wong McMillian (Lance), Danielle Wong Moores (Sean), Mark Wong, Craig Wong, and Piers Wong (Shannon McMullan); her grandchildren James and Emily McMillian and Addy Gray Moores; her brothers Sung Wah Lo (Janet Lau) and Chung Chiu Lo; her sister Pui Yee Lo; and her nieces Angela Choy (Oliver) and Elli Lo.

If so desired memorial contributions can be made to the Westminster Schools of Augusta, 3067 Wheeler Road, Augusta, GA, 30909.

Those attending the services are encouraged to wear face coverings and social distancing will be practiced.