Henry Siu-lun Chan

Henry Chan was born on Dec. 4, 1937 in Kobe, Japan to a Japanese mother Mei-ai Ng and a Chinese father Tatfu Chan.  He was the eldest of four children. In 1942, the family moved to Canton (now Guangzhou).  At the age of 9, Henry went to boarding school for 10 years.  After high school, he went back to Japan to get his degree in Architectural Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology (the MIT of Japan).  Shortly thereafter he met Suzanne in Kobe and married in 1966, then moved to Hong Kong.  Sam was born there in 1968.  To escape civil unrest, the family moved to Salinas, CA in 1969 where Suzanne’s sister’s family was living and where Deborah was born.  Henry took some odd jobs until he landed a job with the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District in 1970.  Among other things, he and his team redesigned the 128 lamp posts that line the roadway on the Golden Gate Bridge.  In 1974, Henry decided to help his sister Ladia and brother Peter and their families in Hong Kong immigrate to the U.S. and they started a restaurant business together.  All 3 families moved to Houston, TX.  After 5 years, Henry and his family moved back to California and settled in the SF Bay Area, where Henry owned and operated 4 restaurants.  He spent a total of 27 years in that business.  After retirement, he enjoyed time with family and travelled extensively.  In the end, he succumbed to a long battle with sarcoma and passed away peacefully on May 7, 2021 at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne and son Sam in Walnut Creek, daughter Debbie (aka Deborah) and son-in-law Matt Mangan in San Francisco, siblings Ladia Luk in Hong Kong, Peter Chan in Las Vegas, NV and Helena Poon in Sydney, Australia and many extended family members.