Hop Jeong

July 31, 1930-November 22, 2020

San Lorenzo, California

Hop Jeong entered peacefully into rest, at his home in San Lorenzo, surrounded by his loved ones on November 22, 2020. He was 90 years old.

Hop was born on July 31, 1930, in Canton, China, the oldest of four sons and one daughter of Parents Shee and Yee Jeong. Hoping for a better life for their children, they first sent Hop and one of his brothers by shipto Gum San, “Golden Mountain”, the Chinese description of America. As a 10-year old, he endured at two month stay and interrogation at the Angel Island Immigration Station before he was able to join his grandfather, who raised him and his brother, in San Francisco.

Gangs pervaded Chinatown during his growing years but the welcome doors of the YMCA helped develop Hop’s character after school and summers. The group in which Hop was placed,ARO, continued to meet after they “graduated” from the “Y”. In their senior years, Hop and his fellow ARO members, donated time and seed money to raise millions of dollars for the Chinatown “Y”. In addition, he was a supporter of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation and a guest attendee at their annual fundraising dinners.

Like many young men of his time, Hop was drafted into the Army after high school and was stationed in Korea for two years. Upon his discharge and urging of one of his superiors, he enrolled at San Francisco Community College, intending to drop out after a semester. He found college easy and soon transferred toSan Francisco State where he earned his B.S. degree in Accounting. He later attended Golden Gate University for his MBA and was a loyal employee of Kaiser Permanente for 33 years.

Hop met his lovely wife, Carol, through mutual friends. After Hop and Carol married, they settled in San Lorenzo, where they raised their family of three daughters. He worked hard to support them through his job at Kaiser and built a successful income tax business which he ran into his late 80’s.

In retirement, Hop enjoyed travelling with Carol, on cruises and Road Scholar trips all over the world, as well as visiting family and friends. His favorite vacations were ones that he travelled with his family and grandchildren.

He is survived by Carol, his wife of 59 years, his children: Catherine Matsuda (Dean), Cynthia Sevin (Eric) and Cecelia FitzGerald (Sean). Hop is also survived by his grandchildren who were his pride and joy: Nicole and Wyatt Matsuda, Hannah and Charlotte Sevin, Vicknes and VinithaVijayarengan, and Ryan and Ethan FitzGerald. He is also survived by his brothers: Henry Jeong (Kitty) and John Cheung (Alice) as well as many loving nieces and nephews. Hop is predeceased by his siblings: Frank Jeong (Anna) and Joy (Jeong) Yee.

In lieu of flowers, Hop’s wishes were to send donations to the following in his memory:

Chinatown YMCA
855 Sacramento Street
San Francisco, CA 94108

Or

Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
870 Market Street, Suite 941
San Francisco, CA 94102

A family celebration of Hop’s life and the scattering of his ashes will be held at a later date.