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Eleanor YG Wong Loo was born in 1921 and died on March 14, 2020. She was raised in Hilo, Hawaii and was graduated from Cannons Business School in Honolulu. Her parents owned and operated the popular Wo Chong restaurant in downtown Hilo where she worked after graduation. She would eventually meet her future husband, Ernest M.S. Loo, whose family owned the Hilo Meat Market by Hilo bayfront. They married in 1943, and had three children Wilma SY Loo, Sheila ML Donnelly Theroux and Ernest JT Loo. Soon after WW II ended, the couple and their children moved to Honolulu where Ernest Loo won a job with the state through his high civil service exam scores. The found a house across from the University of Hawaii on Mahi Place behind Our Redeemer Lutheran church. It had been owned by the late painter John Young and Eleanor Loo said that had always felt it was a good luck house because it was shaped "like a money bag." Later, they moved farther into Manoa, their children attending local schools, Eleanor sending them off with lunches and welcoming them home with her delicious Wo Chong inspired dinners. Eleanor Loo was a study in contrasts; she was decidedly indoorsy, a traditional homemaker who loved to visit and talk story, with a great sense of humor and a spontaneous and infectious laugh. Yet she also embodied a dedicated 'can do' attitude; sewing costumes for the Hawaiian Regent Hotel, dancing ballroom style at the Ala Wai Clubhouse with Ernest and making beds by hand for all her children. She did not like dogs and felt that cut flowers were a hassle. But she taught herself to swim at the Waikiki Natatorium and made a char siu bao that had kids stomping their feet in appreciation when she brought the buns to Punahou for her grandson Brendan's birthday. In retirement, Ernest and Eleanor traveled all over the world,by cruise ship, plane and tour bus; from Alaska to Hong Kong to Inner Mongolia, and throughout China. They went to see the leaves turn in Nova Scotia, and they visited the Theroux relatives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Everywhere they went they were sure to make friends and practice their dance steps, whether it was in a ballroom or waiting for an elevator. One of their great satisfactions was, late in life, mastering Mandarin Chinese. Eleanor is survived by her three children, son-in-law author Paul Theroux, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She will be laid to rest with her husband at Punchbowl and will be much missed for her kindness, her generosity, and her loving heart. Final arrangements for a memorial are pending.
Eleanor YG Wong Loo was born in 1921 and died on March 14, 2020. She was raised in Hilo, Hawaii and was graduated from Cannons Business School in Honolulu. Her parents owned and operated the popular Wo Chong restaurant in downtown Hilo where she worked after graduation. She would eventually meet her future husband, Ernest M.S. Loo, whose family owned the Hilo Meat Market by Hilo bayfront. They married in 1943, and had three children Wilma SY Loo, Sheila ML Donnelly Theroux and Ernest JT Loo. Soon after WW II ended, the couple and their children moved to Honolulu where Ernest Loo won a job with the state through his high civil service exam scores. The found a house across from the University of Hawaii on Mahi Place behind Our Redeemer Lutheran church. It had been owned by the late painter John Young and Eleanor Loo said that had always felt it was a good luck house because it was shaped "like a money bag." Later, they moved farther into Manoa, their children attending local schools, Eleanor sending them off with lunches and welcoming them home with her delicious Wo Chong inspired dinners. Eleanor Loo was a study in contrasts; she was decidedly indoorsy, a traditional homemaker who loved to visit and talk story, with a great sense of humor and a spontaneous and infectious laugh. Yet she also embodied a dedicated 'can do' attitude; sewing costumes for the Hawaiian Regent Hotel, dancing ballroom style at the Ala Wai Clubhouse with Ernest and making beds by hand for all her children. She did not like dogs and felt that cut flowers were a hassle. But she taught herself to swim at the Waikiki Natatorium and made a char siu bao that had kids stomping their feet in appreciation when she brought the buns to Punahou for her grandson Brendan's birthday. In retirement, Ernest and Eleanor traveled all over the world,by cruise ship, plane and tour bus; from Alaska to Hong Kong to Inner Mongolia, and throughout China. They went to see the leaves turn in Nova Scotia, and they visited the Theroux relatives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Everywhere they went they were sure to make friends and practice their dance steps, whether it was in a ballroom or waiting for an elevator. One of their great satisfactions was, late in life, mastering Mandarin Chinese. Eleanor is survived by her three children, son-in-law author Paul Theroux, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She will be laid to rest with her husband at Punchbowl and will be much missed for her kindness, her generosity, and her loving heart. Final arrangements for a memorial are pending.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased
