WONG, RUSSELL Russell passed peacefully, on April 3, 2025, at Viva Pickering Retirement home, surrounded by his family. Loving husband to Lil (deceased 2018); beloved father of Jacqui (Kris), Russell (Monica) and Trevor (Sue). Proud grandfather of Russell III (Melody), Brianna (Brayden), Hayden, Bryce, Keira and Adam. Brother to Stanley (Doreen) and Lucy (Peter). He was predeceased by pretty much everyone else (when you live to 91, that's way above the average, especially if you smoked two packs a day in your troubled youth): his beloved mother, Grace; and siblings, Bernice (Thomas), Leo (Ping), Madeline (Henry), Anita (Kajit), Jean (Norman), George, and Ray (Dawn).

Born in Vancouver on November 22, 1933, he moved to Toronto as a child. While in Toronto, he preferred hustling pool over attending school. Later, he met a beauty queen at Chinese Canadian Association social events who softened his bad boy ways. While bowling, skiing, dancing and attending parties, they courted, marrying in February 1965. After discovering corporate life wasn't for him, his entrepreneurial spirit kicked in, and the husband and wife duo started West Rouge Cycle and Sports, which operated for over 30 years until at age 70, Dad crashed a plane he was flying (which is a whole other fun story).

Unlike his wife who loved adventure and travel, Russ preferred to stay closer to home and make regular donations to casinos. He passed this passion of casino philanthropy to his sons and they enjoyed several trips to Vegas, where they spent quality time at the poker, blackjack and craps tables. And they somehow always won... in their minds. He also loved to drive: anywhere, anytime, and he would happily show up unannounced at your front door, even if you were five hours away. Never one to doubt his own abilities, his career spanned from pool shark to hockey referee to foreign currency trader to engineering technologist at Ontario Hydro.

We thank the wonderful people at Viva Pickering for their care, kindness and patience (lots and lots of patience) with our Dad.

In lieu of flowers, please take the time to call your father to accept his invitation to watch Korean sitcoms; hug your mother and say you love her; or go for a two-hour drive to just to buy an apple pie. You can also donate to Canadian Cancer Society, North York General Hospital, or your local casino ($10 line bet on craps and back it up with odds please).

In celebration of his almost invincibility, visitation will be held at Mount Pleasant Funeral Centre on Friday, May 30th, from 4 - 8 p.m., with a Celebration of his Nonconformist Life to follow on Saturday, May 31st, at 10:30 a.m. Please check out Mount Pleasant Cemetery website for details.