Rodney Elliott Wong

11/09/1939 - 03/29/2024

With sadness, love, and gratitude, we mourn the loss of our beloved “Lolo”, Rodney Elliott Wong, who passed away at home on March 29, 2024 in Foster City, CA, at the age of 84, surrounded by his loving family.

Beloved husband, partner and best friend of Shirley Azares Wong; cherished stepdad to Pol Badillo, the late Sharlene Crader (Mike), Sharon Badillo-Phelan (Tim), Norm Badillo (Tammy), Mike Badillo (Paige Benjamin), Sophia Flynn (Tom); loving grandfather to Charlotte Crader, Tabitha Badillo, Cammy Badillo, Maya Phelan, Nia Phelan, Kayden Badillo, Malia Badillo, Zoe Badillo; dearest brother to Sandra Yee (Franklin); adored uncle to nieces and nephew, Audrey Yee (Michael Steiner), Stephanie Yee (David Rivas), and Laurence Yee (Rupsa), and grandnieces and grandnephews, Sam Steiner, Elena, Pilar, and Nico Rivas and Evan and Jared Yee. He is preceded by his beloved parents, Hogan and Ruth Wong.

Rod was born on November 9, 1939, in Oakland, CA and raised in Alameda, CA. He attended Porter Elementary School and Alameda High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Pacific, and in 1970 a Juris Doctor with honors from Lincoln Law School in San Francisco.

After law school, he worked as a social worker and also had a law office in Oakland. He was the Director of Child Care Centers at the Head Start Program, south of Market in San Francisco where he met his future wife, Shirley. From 1977-1984, he worked as a contracting officer for CETA, for the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Employment and Training. In the 1980’s, Rod also served on the staff of San Francisco Supervisor, Quentin Kopp.

From 1984-2015, Rod served as an attorney for the San Francisco Rent Board. He was an expert in landlord and tenant law. He helped tenants and landlords understand the law and resolve disputes, protecting tenants from excessive rent increases and unjust evictions, while assuring landlords fair and adequate rents. Known as a fair and compassionate listener, Rod was a beacon for many immigrant tenants, who would line up outside of his office for his counsel. He rarely took vacations and delayed his retirement for many years, because he wanted to be there for those in need. When he retired from the Rent Board in 2015, he was honored by the San Francisco City and County Board of Supervisors for his excellent service to the community. He was an active member of the Bar Association until his passing.

As a young child, he had

asthma, so he could not participate in active sports. The treatment at that time was minimal and his mother was very protective of him, so he found other interests that he kept through his lifetime.

Rod loved to spend time in nature. He loved ?shing, an interest that he inherited from his father, who would take the family to the delta to ?sh for bass. Rodney especially enjoyed surf ?shing. Throughout his life, he loved fishing around Yosemite, Hawaii, Marin County and under the Golden Gate Bridge.

He loved hiking the trails of Mt. Tamalpais and Yosemite, and despite having asthma he climbed Yosemite’s Half Dome. He loved visiting National Parks and driving along the coast on Highway 1. He loved skiing, (even though he broke his leg once)!

Maui was another special place for Rod and his family. He loved the beach and ocean air. He enjoyed part of his retirement in Ka’anapali and loved spending summers with his grandkids exploring Hawaii’s natural beauty, visiting waterfalls, swimming and snorkeling. Rod was baptized and married in Lahaina at Maria Lanakila Catholic Church.

Rod had a life long passion for cars and motorcycles. His ?rst car in college was an MG sports car. After college, he began to collect cars and was known to his car loving friends as “Hot Rod”.

Rod loved all his cars and motorcycles, especially his Camaro, his prized Buick Grand National (which was stolen from him), Saab

96, Morris Mini, Jaguar E type, Toyota Land Cruiser,

Mercedes AMG and his CL77 Honda Scrambler 305 and Triumph Bonneville motorcycles. He loved road trips, mechanics and working on his cars in his spare time. He rebuilt his Camaro and had hoped to one day restore all his cars and motorcycles to their former glory. He could talk for hours about cars, old and new.

Rod was a loyal and devoted son, visiting his parents in Alameda every weekend. He was the cool uncle, deserving of the nickname Kulolo. An uncle to three by the time he was 23, he played all kinds of tricks on his nieces and nephew and made them laugh all the time.

Rod lived the first half of his life as “Hot Rod”, but the second half of his life he was lovingly known as “Lolo” to his wife, stepkids and grandkids. He probably didn’t expect to be the stepdad to 6 kids but he loved his wife so much that he welcomed his stepkids, their spouses, and his grandchildren with open arms. He was a kind, gentle, and dependable presence. He brought balance, calm, and a sharp sense of humor, and learned to go with the flow in such a big family. He had fun playing video games with his step kids and grandkids, and solving Encyclopedia Brown mysteries with Sophia.

Rod was best friend and devoted husband to his wife, Shirley. They enjoyed sharing their lives with one another, spending every minute possible together. They traveled to Venice, the Murano and Burano Islands, Rome, the Vatican, Pisa, Pompeii, Milan,

Siena, San Gimignano, and climbed the Duomo in Florence, Italy. They spent part of their retirement in Maui, living the quiet island life, and enjoyed watching cooking shows and cooking together, spending time with their kids, grandkids, family and friends. Rod also found joy watching westerns and action movies, reading detective stories, eating candy, discovering and discussing new tech products and listening to music. He loved Jazz and played trumpet, guitar and piano.

Rod adored his wife, Shirley, who tirelessly took care of him while his health was ailing. Especially in recent years, while Rod was hospitalized, Shirley would rarely leave his side and tenaciously advocated for his proper care. Even while sick, Rod loved to buy gifts online for his wife. His last gift arrived on the day he passed - an Instapot. He knew Shirley would love it.

We are forever grateful for the many prayers, expressions of love, concern, and kindness shown to Rod, especially while he was sick. We appreciate all who visited Rod in the hospital. Special thanks to his niece, Audrey, for her weekly visits. He loved seeing his family and friends.

Rod was kind, loving, forgiving, compassionate, intelligent, witty, generous, helpful, dedicated, hard working and respected by many. He will always be remembered for loving his wife, parents, family and friends. He will always be missed and never forgotten.

Friends may visit from 1 to 7 pm (Vigil Prayers at 4 pm) on Sunday, April 21, 2024 at the CROSBY - N. GRAY & CO. Funeral Home, 2 Park Road, Burlingame. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10:00 am Monday, April 22, 2024 at Our Lady of Angels Church, 1721 Hillside Drive, Burlingame, followed by interment at Mountain View Cemetery in Piedmont.