Obituary for Anita Wong 1941 – September 7, 2026

Anita was born in the Republic of China in 1941, during World War Two. Her father was a general in the Chinese Nationalist Army fighting against the Imperial Japanese invasion. Just before the Communists took over China, her mother took their family to Taiwan. Later, her father was able to evade capture and join them.

In college, she graduated at the top of her class at the Teaching College and was honorably exempted from the two-year teaching requirement after graduation. She became an instructor instead at the college, which was a great honor.

In the 1960s, she was granted a visa to the United States, with her family, where she obtained a master's degree in Fine Arts. She then worked in the garment district in New York City, designing textiles for fabric merchants to make clothes. She was later naturalized as a U.S. citizen.

While living in northern New Jersey and working in NYC, she met and married Richard Wong. While raising their two sons, she initially worked in retail. In the 1980s, she joined a new company called Federal Express. She worked her way up the business ladder, first working at the call service center and later being promoted to a manager and then director. She would also continue with her graphic arts skills in creating company logos.

After several years at Federal Express, she decided to expand her horizons and learn computer programming while she was in her 40s. This led to employment at small computer companies, where she would code and write the software.

The biggest employment opportunity then opened with Prudential. There, she joined a wonderful group of programmers and created lifelong friendships. Together, they worked on many projects that are commonly used today. One of the main projects was developing the software that utilized the pen tablet for digital signatures on legal documents in 2008. She retired from Prudential as a vice president, recognized for her leadership throughout her career.

Her stories of growing up and example of professional dedication instilled in both of her sons the importance of loyalty and service to the United States, a country that helped China fight against an invasion in World War Two and gave her the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve professional success while raising a family.

Her youngest son, Frederick, served 20 years on active duty with the U.S. Army, to include a deployment to Iraq. The family visits with his wife (Beth – deceased, Rita – current wife) and daughter, Cassie, were some of the happiest moments of her life. The joy of being a grandmother always beamed from her smile.

Her eldest son, David, served 28 years in the U.S. Army Reserve and deployed on multiple active duty assignments to Afghanistan and Iraq, along with supporting recovery efforts at the World Trade Center in September 2001. He was at her side when she passed away.

On September 7, 2026, the bright star of Anita faded into the heavens to join her parents and two sisters, Angela and Amy, and daughter-in-law Beth. Her siblings, Aileen, Peter, and Paul, husband Richard, family, and friends will always remember her smile.

Services : A funeral service will be held at 11 A.M. Thursday, September 17, at Cantelmi Long Funeral Home, 500 Linden St. Bethlehem, PA 18018. A calling hour will begin at 10:00 AM and continue until the start of the service. A viewing will be held on Wednesday, September 16, from 5-7 pm at the funeral home.

Contributions : In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Anita Wong to St. Mary's Catholic School, 903 West Mission Ave, Bellevue, NE 68005.