On May 24, 2009, St. Joseph’s Medical Center held a dedication ceremony for the newly named Sylvia S. Wong Linear Accelerator Room. To commemorate and explain the basis for the naming, they presented the following plaque to the Wongs.
It reads as follows:
Dr. Henry Wong wanted to give something special to his wife on their 36th wedding anniversary. He knew that she was not crazy for extravagant diamond jewelry or expensive luxury cruises. He thought of something that would meet her approval, that is meaningful, time lasting, and makes our community better. So, with the assistance of St. Joseph’s Medical Center President Don Wiely, Regional Cancer Center Manager Ginger Manss, and Foundation Vice Present Linda Philipp, he decided to make a gift to St. Joseph’s Foundation. And it turned out to be a very special gift, indeed.
Dr. Wong’s wife, Sylvia S. Wong, is a well-known, very successful local real estate broker. Dr. Wong is a radiation oncologist and the medical director of the St. Joseph’s Regional Cancer Center. The Wongs own rental properties and, in the past, have made gifts of real estate to their alma mater. So, to honor Sylvia on their anniversary, Henry Wong donated his one-half interest in a rental home they owned here in Stockton to the Foundation. As luck would have it, a buyer was interested in purchasing the home soon after the gift was made.
To recognize their gift, the Cancer Center’s linear accelerator room was named the Sylvia S. Wong Linear Accelerator Room at a dedication ceremony on May 24, just one week after their anniversary date. Mrs. Wong was genuinely touched by her husband’s generosity and loving gesture. In accepting the gift, she noted, “No gift you could give me would mean as much as your love and support.”
St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Regional Cancer Center, and Foundation are truly grateful to Dr. and Mrs. Henry Wong, and wish them many more years of happiness to come.
About the Linear Accelerator
The Sylvia S. Wong Linear Accelerator Room features a $1.7 million Varian 2100 EX Linear Accelerator, procured in 2000 through a two-year fundraising campaign. This achievement was made possible by the unwavering faith, generosity, and dedication of numerous community members committed to advancing cancer care at St. Joseph’s who deserve acknowledgment as well.
While San Joaquin County hosts several cancer treatment facilities, St. Joseph’s stood out as the only one to meet the stringent criteria for accreditation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.