Frank Wong, a devoted community volunteer and former Red Deer city council member, passed away.

Wong, 75, moved to Red Deer in 1971 and worked for more than 30 years as a city planner until winning a seat on the council in 2004. After serving five terms, he would retire in 2021. Prior to his death on Wednesday morning, he had been admitted to the hospital for a while.

In 2004, Tara Veer, a former mayor and council member, was elected to the council for the first time with Wong.

“Frank often referenced the Class of 2004 and wanted us to commemorate it,” Veer recalled fondly.

“It is a great loss to the community. He really was an incredible person.

“There were so many things about Frank. Frank above all, brought a great sense of humanity to our council. He always truly saw people and their needs.

“He gave generously of his time to so many community organizations. Everyone he encountered would become a friend.

In Toi Shan, Kwang Tung, China, Wong was born Woon Woon Wong in December 1948 in the family village at Chow Buck Alley, Chow Tung 38 Village. According to a family history he assisted in preparing for an immigrant retrospective at the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery.

He came to Canada as part of his family’s fourth generation of immigrants. Around 1900, his great-grandfather set off for Saskatchewan, followed in 1916 by his grandfather, who worked in the restaurant and laundry industries alongside his two brothers.

Frank was picked to go to Canada with his grandfather because he was the eldest child of Wong Sut Ying and Yee Kwan.

He went to live with his grandmother in Hong Kong when he was five years old, and when he saved up enough money, he immigrated to Canada when he was nine. He arrived in Canada using the alias Woon Tong Chiu, and he was mistaken for the son of two other Chinese immigrants who were living under false pretenses.

Wong was an original member of the Red Deer Regional Hospital Foundation and an active volunteer in many organizations, including the Red Deer and District Museum Society, the Kidney Foundation of Canada, the Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society, the Friends of Sunnybrook Farm Society, and the Red Deer and District Chinese Community Society. He participated actively in Knox Presbyterian Church as well.