Tommy Hok-Lai Chang's Obituary
Tommy Hok-Lai Chang July 21, 1945-January 29, 2016 Husband, Father, Brother, FriendWe mourn the untimely passing of Tommy Hok-Lai Chang most unexpectedly on Friday, January 29, 2016. Tommy was born and raised in Hong Kong, with his older sisters, Mary (deceased 1993) and Betty and younger brother, Sammy, by his late parents, Charlie Man-Ching Chang (1911-1982) and Pui-Yu Cheng (1921-1997). He attended Pui Ying Secondary School in Hong Kong, playing his favorite sport, soccer, with talent throughout his school years. Growing up, Tommy was a Boy Scout and enjoyed many outdoor activities. Tommy moved to California in 1972, working first at King Yen Restaurant in Berkeley, CA, then at Alta Bates Hospital Radiology Department, where he worked for 38 years and was known and loved by everyone there. Bereft of Tommy’s incessant good humor and welcoming smile are his wonderful wife, Caroline Klas Chang and his treasured daughter, the light of his life, Tracy Lynn Chang. His friends will miss him terribly as well. As the quintessential Cal Bears fan, he could always be found engrossed in sports, with encyclopedic knowledge of players and plays and commentary to match. He loved his coffee and Coca-Cola, perennially debating the merits of Coke with his Pepsi-loving friends. He was known and appreciated for always laughing at his friends’ bad jokes and adored the two family Australian Shepherds, Riley and Pepper, as well as Tracy’s dog, Capp. It was a well-known dining tradition that for every bite Tommy got, the 3 dogs each got their own. Tommy is also survived and will be sorely missed by his brother-Sammy, sister-Betty, nieces and nephews, Kenneth Tsang, Evelyn Tsang, Ricci Ng, Rene Ng, Derrick Chang, Denise Chang and numerous nieces and nephews in Caroline’s family. The family requests, rather than flowers, a donation to Hayward Animal Shelter Donation Fund, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or a charity of your choice.
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