Mary Ong Tom Mason's Obituary
Mary Ong Tom Mason went to be with the Lord Jesus on December 14, 2016. Mary was born October 23, 1919, in Phoenix, Arizona, the youngest of four children. Upon graduation from Phoenix Union High School, she faced discrimination against Asians when job hunting. After working in her brother Walter’s grocery store, Mary left home for San Francisco with $25 in her pocket and a bus ticket to pursue life in the big city. She credits God for giving her the desire and strength to venture out, removing all fear of the unknown, protecting her when she arrived with no friends, no job, and no housing, and providing her with a $1/night room the first night and a $1/day employment the next day.
After working as a maid, a cook, and a waitress, she auditioned and was selected and trained to tap dance for the first ever all-Chinese nightclub in San Francisco’s Chinatown, called the Forbidden City. It was the thrill of her life, moving from small town Phoenix to now dancing and entertaining young soldiers stopping in San Francisco as they headed to or returned from the Pacific in WWII. Mary and Robert (Bob) Tom began their married life in San Francisco, having Mike and Penny there before having Marsha in Phoenix, then Terry and Shelley in Tucson. Mary and Bob ran a neighborhood grocery store in Tucson until Bob started working for the Tucson Water Department and Mary worked as a part time grocery store cashier and bank teller, caring for their young children. She later retired as a cashier from the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division.
Mary’s happiest years of her life were when she was dancing – square, round and line dancing – especially with Bob, then with second husband Garth Mason, and finally with dance partner Jim Jones. Everyone knew and loved the effervescent and graceful Mary. She was a regular at jazzercise and aerobics classes, Tucson Chinese Cultural Center and Tucson Chinese Senior Citizens' Association activities. She especially loved traveling to Hawaii, Las Vegas and Branson.
Mary is predeceased by parents James Yin and Yee Shee Ong; husbands Robert Tom and Garth Mason; siblings Walter and John Ong, Lucy Ong Wahl. She is survived by children Michael (Mary Lou) Tom, Penny (Colin Campbell) Lee, Marsha (Larry) Denman, Terry (Linda) Tom, Shelley (Bob) Brennan, with 12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren; stepsister-in-law Marian (Samuel) Hodesson, stepdaughters Wendie (Stuart) Bengson and Gloria (Patrick) Kelly, with 3 step-grandchildren and 2 great-step-grandchildren. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 10:00 am on Monday, December 26 at the First Church of God in Tucson, 3355 N Fontana Ave.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center (Seniors Program, in Memory of Ms. Mary Tom), 1288 West River Road, Tucson, Arizona 85704 or to the Tucson Chinese Senior Citizens' Association, PO Box 16525, Tucson, AZ 85732-6525.
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