David Kenneth Wayne Moy

David Kenneth Wayne Moy was born on November 4, 1931, in a small village in Southern China in the Canton region.  He was the youngest of two children to parents Yim Gong Moy and Yee See Moy, and the younger brother to May Yee.

Dave faced adversity at a very young age in China as he was running home from school during an air raid attack.  A Japanese soldier pointed his gun directly at Dave and then decided to spare his life and not to shoot since he was only a boy.

Shortly after, Dave immigrated to the US at the age of 8, along with his mother, sister, and cousins under paper names, as was very common practice in those days since the Chinese Exclusion Act was in effect.  His father was already living in California.  Dave had to go through the Immigration interrogation process and could have gotten deported back to China because he answered a question incorrectly.  The Chinese translator gave him a second chance to answer the question correctly, which Dave did.  The family lived in LA for five years before moving to Sacramento to be with Dave’s sister, brother-in-law, and their sons.

Dave learned the value of money and working hard at an early age as he worked in a Chinese restaurant as a young teenager.  He graduated from Sacramento High and Sacramento City College.

During the Korean War in the early 1950’s, Dave was drafted in the army and served as a translator/interpreter for Korean, Japanese, and Chinese languages.  He was honorably discharged when the war ended.

In 1957, Dave married Luella Kay (Honey) Fong and had 2 children – Steven Moy and Laurie Moy.  Dave enjoyed ballroom dancing and would even travel to Las Vegas and Los Angeles to attend dinner dances with Honey.  After 14 years of marriage, they decided to separate and part ways.

Dave’s dream job to be engineer was achieved as he became a Civil Engineer with the State of California.  Dave used his first paycheck towards buying a car.  As a bridge designer for Cal Trans, his bridges can be seen in Sacramento and the Bay Area – Hwy 980 and Hwy 310.  He also designed the 4-level freeway interchange in Pomona, CA before the days of computer automation.  Dave enjoyed a long successful career and retired at the age of 57 in 1988.

Dave excelled at bowling and won many trophies with an average score of 180+.  He also was an avid skier and golfer.  Over time, golfing became Dave’s main sport. Because of his years growing up in LA, Dave remained a loyal LA Dodgers and LA Lakers fan.  He also enjoyed playing the stock market.

Dave met Jeanette Chan at the CSEA bowling league in 1973, which began a 50-year relationship until his death.  He told Jeanette she was a chop suey bowler – she had a straight ball, hook ball, and back-up ball.

They shared many common interests and activities.  They became members of the Sacramento Chinese Golf Club and participated in golf tournaments throughout the West Coast, Tucson, Vancouver, Seattle, and the Bay Area.

Dave loved to travel the world with Jeanette, and often with friends and family.  His favorite and most memorable trips were to Ireland and Scotland, where they golfed at the world-famous St. Andrew’s golf course and played the 9-hole Old Course twice. His other favorite golf courses that he played on were Pebble Beach and Coeur d’Alene.  He was a modest man and never talked about his lowest golf score, but he won many trophies.

Over the years, Dave and Jeanette traveled to many countries throughout the world including Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.  They also traveled all over the US and Hawaii to golf.

Dave enjoyed fishing in local California lakes and also went on ocean charter fishing trips in the Bay Area.  He also went crabbing in the Pacific Northwest.

In 2013, Dave was diagnosed with colon cancer.  He underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatments and was declared a cancer survivor in 2014!

Dave was not a talkative person, but he was always known for his big smile, his kindness, and dependability.  He also took interest in supporting an orphanage in Taiwan, Sacramento Asian Sports Housing Foundation, Asian Community Center for Senior Services, and his daughter’s activities in the Mandarins Drum & Bugle Corps.

Dave accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and recently rededicated his life.

On August 3, 2023 Dave passed away due to aspiration pneumonitis and transitioned to heaven.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Yim Moy, his sister and brother-in-law John and May Yee, his son Steven Moy, and his nephews Jeff Yee and James Yee.  He is survived by his former wife Honey Moy French, their daughter Laurie Moy, nephews Jack Yee and Joe Yee, and lifetime partner Jeanette Chan.
 
If you wish to make a financial donation in memory of Dave Moy, the family would like you to donate to Asian Community Center Senior Services.  https://www.accsv.org/