Chemist, IRS Employee; Loving Wife, Mother, Grandmother

WONG, Helen Louise Yee of Brookline, MA. passed away on October 26, 2024. She was 93 years old.

Mrs. Wong was the eldest child of Chinese immigrants and grew up in a tenement on Hudson Street in Boston's Chinatown, where her father worked as a waiter and her mother labored as a seamstress to support their four daughters. World War II was a time of scarcity and rationing, so Mrs. Wong quickly learned how to fix broken objects in the apartment and developed a mechanical aptitude. She attended Girls' High School and later graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in Chemistry, where she was active in the German Club and the Chemistry Club. She was hired as a chemist at U.S. Army Natick Laboratories, where she collaborated with a team that developed an "indestructible" plastic for the military, and participated in the development and testing of NASA spacecraft heat shields during John F. Kennedy's presidency.

She met her future husband (a mechanical engineering student) at a dance for Chinese students at MIT. They later married at Old South Church in Copley Square. For many years, Mrs. Wong was a full-time, devoted mother to her four children in Brookline, MA. She developed a love of orchids, mysteries, and financial news. She often helped her children with math and science homework, and passed on to them many Chinese cultural traditions. She was later employed by the Internal Revenue Service until her retirement from the Offer in Compromise group. During her last years residing at Goddard House Assisted Living, she became a talented budding artist in paints and collage. Her friends, family, and caretakers often noted her quick wit and lovely disposition.

She leaves behind children Linda Wong, Lisa (David) Clark, Susan (Bailey) Long, and John Wong; and her grandchildren Daniela Wong-Chiulli, Alyssa (Ryan) Carufe, Tyler Long, and Tiana Long; nieces, nephews, extended family; and friends. She was predeceased by her husband of 62 years How Ming Wong; her father Ming Pon Yee; her mother Jean Suey Gam Yee; and her sisters Margaret Chin, Pauline Tang, and Natalie Chin.

Visiting Hours: Wake on Friday, November 1; 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Funeral on Saturday, November 2; service at 10 a.m.; eulogy at 11 a.m. Bell-O'Dea Funeral Home (https://www.bellodeafuneralhome.com), 376 Washington Street, BROOKLINE. (617) 277-7652.

PHOTO: Copyright Lora Brody.