Tong Thy "Mr. Jay" Huang

Tong Thy "Mr. Jay" Huang, 80, of Lake Charles passed away Sunday, April 23, 2017 in the comfort of his home, surrounded by his loving family. Mr. Huang was born October 20, 1936 in Tainan, Taiwan to Chin Lung Huang and Chun Chan Chang Huang. After Mr. Huang married his beloved wife Yueh Shing Chen, he got a job at the U.S. military base in Tainan and worked there for more than 10 years as a cook, waiter and photographer. Following the close of the base, in 1976 he immigrated to the U.S. Within 2 years, his family sold everything they owned to purchase plane tickets and joined him in Lake Charles. For eight years the family worked at various Chinese restaurants in Lake Charles, New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Houston. After saving enough, in 1984 Mr. and Mrs. Jay purchased the Peking Garden and have been proprietors of this family-owned business the last 33 years.

Mr. Jay had a humble beginning, working in agriculture in the fields around Tainan. His formal education ended after the fifth grade. But he relentlessly pursued self-education the rest of his life, gaining high school and just short of college equivalency. He became fluent in reading and writing Taiwanese, Mandarin and English, was widely read and traveled, and maintained a continual quest for learning his entire life. Mr. and Mrs. Jay were one of the first of families to purchase and renovate a home in the Charpentier Historic District, helping initiate a transformation of the area. Their classic 19th century home is now listed in the National Historic Register. Mr. Jay had many passions including house restoration, classical music, art, history and reading -- but his first passion was always family.