Stephen Ross Ong (5 January 1949 - 28 November 2023)

The Editor is very sorry to learn of the passing of the eldest member of the Elkhart branch of the family, and extends his condolences to Stephen's family.  His was a life dedicated to God, family, and service to others.  RIP

From Legacy.com:
 

Stephen Ong, 74, of Greeley, passed away on November 28th, 2023 in Greeley, Colorado. He was born to Richard and Mary Alice (Glace) Ong on January 5, 1949 in Elkhart, Indiana.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Wabash College and graduated with his MBA from the University of Chicago while working for NIBCO in Indiana. He was a hard worker and always wanted to do something big with his life. He chose the best and most honorable occupation of ministering to others. He loved his Lord and Savior and loved sharing that with people he met. He met and later married the love of his wife, Teresa Swinney, while earning his M. Div. at Denver Baptist Theological Seminary. They celebrated their 45th anniversary this year with a two-week cruise on the Queen Mary 2.

He loved traveling to England with student groups and enjoyed reading and teaching history. He enjoyed playing word games with his grandchildren and playing golf with his family. Above all, he enjoyed his time with his Bible daily. After he trusted Christ at age 23, he felt called to pastoral ministry. He pastored for four years at Gilcrest Baptist Church and then moved to Greeley to found Reformation Baptist Church (originally Victory Baptist Church). He devoted his life to Christian education and also founded Colorado Heritage Education School System for home school families in 1991 and Chambers College in 1998. He was still teaching until the day he passed. His unique and infectious laugh and his devoted service will be missed by all who knew him and loved him.

Stephen is survived by his wife, Teresa Ong; children, MaryBeth (James) Clifford, Christopher (Christy) Ong, Sarah (Jerry) Porter, Brandon (Chelsea) Ong, Alice (Jonathan) Wishart, R. Baxter Ong, and Katherine Ong (Mario Jaraba), 16 grandchildren; siblings B.Nelson and Page Onge and large extended family and multitudes of friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents; siblings, David Ong, Kevin Ong, and Megan Corbridge.

Memorial contributions in Stephen Ong's name can be made out to the Reformation Baptist Church Building Fund in Care of Lighthouse Family Mortuary, 2525 W 16th Street #C, Greeley, Colorado 80634. To leave condolences for Stephen's Family, www.lighthousefamilylfm.com

A memorial service will be held at 4 pm, Monday, December 11, 2023 at First United Methodist Church, 917 10th Avenue in Greeley.

Kevin Edward Ong (2 September 1957 - 1 March 2023)

 

Condolences to the "Elkhart (IN) branch" of the family tree which lost a beloved father, brother and uncle, as well as a cousin to all the rest of us.  Below is Kevin's touching obituary composed by his family.  RIP

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“One Day More” was Kevin’s favorite song from the musical Les Miserables and the line “I did not live until today” completes his life from earth to his heavenly home.

Kevin was born on September 2, 1957 in Elkhart to the late Richard and Mary Alice Ong. While in high school he loved being a part of the Concord Marching Minutemen and being able to verbally express himself in a speech competition or hold the floor during a debate. Not only could Kevin speak eloquently, but he was also given the nickname “Blue Velvet” because he wore an elegant blue velvet jacket to every competition. He graduated from Concord High School in 1976 and went on to attend Hillsdale College, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in speech and theater with a minor in English. But Kevin was not done learning, he also graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a master’s degree in education.

Kevin was hired at Elkhart Central where he taught speech, theater, and English for 34 years. Because he loved being a part of speech and debate during his high school years and he wanted the “next generation” to gain confidence and succeed in their future, Kevin gladly took on the extracurricular job of head speech and debate coach.  He even went on to become a board member for several years and eventually the Executive Director for three years for the Indiana High School Forensics Association. For his dedication to the craft, Kevin earned Diamond Status for coaching speech from the IHSFA, was inducted into the IHSFA Hall of Fame and coached three students into the Nationals Speech Competition. He spent many long evenings after school, working with students and many long Saturdays going to speech tournaments throughout the area – after all, who doesn’t love getting up at the crack of dawn on your day off to take a group of high schoolers to a speech invitational. Kevin loved it!

When he wasn’t at speech and debate competitions, he could be found in the school auditorium directing thespians as they practiced a fall or spring show. His favorite play was “Noises Off” and during his tenure as director had it produced three times. Kevin was also an amazing set designer and set builder for each production.

During this time, he met and fell in love with Valerie “Val” Wiseman. They were married on July 7, 2007 and had the opportunity to “go to the land down under” and enjoyed their honeymoon in Australia. Kevin had a photographer’s eye and took many pictures on their honeymoon and then he was always the one taking pictures at family gatherings or on vacations.

In their home he used his set design and building talents to add a three-tier side deck with two patios to the house and he even had fun laying wood and tile flooring – if he and Val did it together. The two also enjoyed going to movies, the theater (both professional and amateur), the casinos and out to Las Vegas.

Kevin was an avid reader, especially of “Lord of the Rings”, Clive Cussler or Dick Frances novels. As an English major, he also loved to write. He authored several essays, short stories and several articles that were published in the Notre Dame Magazine. He also wrote a dinner-theatre murder mystery, titled, “A Murder in Cripple Creek.”

 Those left to lovingly remember Kevin are Valerie; his sons, Jonathan (TeeA), Jeremy (Risa), and Geoffrey (Janet); grandchildren, Rebekah, Lawrence, and Bethany; and brothers, Steve (Teri), Page, and B. Nelson. Kevin was preceded in death by his parents, a brother David, and a sister Megan Corbridge.

Those that knew Kevin will remember his humor, especially his use of puns. Even when his illness was much progressed, he started putting family photographs on the kitchen window...his last pun...a picture window.

Kevin lost his battle with Frontotemporal Dementia, but we know he is once again speaking and debating, probably with his brother David in heaven. In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made to The Association of Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) online at www.theaftd.org.

 Funeral services for Kevin will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 9 at Hartzler-Gutermuth-Inman Funeral Home, 403 W. Franklin St., Elkhart. Friends may visit with the family at the funeral home from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 8 and one hour prior to the service.

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The original obituary and much interesting commentary can be found here.

William Thompson Ong (6 February 1930 - 28 January 2023)

The Editor's cousin (4th, once-removed), and I believe at the time of his death the oldest living male descendent of the American branch of the family (I usually addressed him as "Dean of the Ongs"), Tom Ong, passed away last week, just nine days before his 93rd birthday.  While we never met, we maintained a correspondence over many years, mostly via Facebook where he was long an active observer of world and national affairs, impressively so for a person of his generation.  After retiring from a career in advertising, Tom turned his creative focus towards fiction, and his novels are available on Amazon here.  Condolences to his children and to everyone in that branch of the family tree.  RIP

From the Philadelphia Inquirer (Feb. 1, 2023):

William Thompson (Tom) Ong, a writer and advertising executive, died on January 28, 2023 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93. After a career in advertising in New York, he co-founded the agency, McAdams & Ong in Philadelphia. In 1995, Mr. Ong was elected the MVP by the Philadelphia Advertising Club. "Tom was an enormous talent and a great partner," wrote Brian McAdams on Facebook. In 1996, he embarked on a career as a novelist and screenwriter. Philadelphia serves as a backdrop for many of his six novels and the screenplay of his novel "The Lion and the Eagle" that won an award from the Houston Film Festival. Mr. Ong was born on February 6, 1930 in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1952, he received his BA from DePauw University. From 1953-55, he served in the US Army 513th Military Intelligence Group in Germany. In 1953, he received a MS in journalism from Columbia University School of Journalism. He is survived by his beloved partner of 33 years, Rita Eisenberg, as well as his 3 daughters Isabelle Kellogg, Samantha Cook (Jamie), and Cassandra Andrea Ong, and 3 grandchildren. He is pre-deceased by his grandson Nathaniel Cook and 2 brothers. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 10:00 A.M. at The First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica, California. Donations in memory of William Thompson Ong can be made to The First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica. (fpcsantamonica.org).

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Jacob Ong's tool chest!

The Historical Society of Mount Pleasant, Ohio shared the news that they had acquired this large wooden tool chest which belonged to Jacob Ong (1760-1849), the builder of the Friends Yearly Meeting House in that town.  It was in the basement of a local family, the Cleavers, who are related by marriage to the Ongs:  John Wheeler Ong (1851-1933), a great-grandson of Jacob Ong, married Clara Belle Cleaver (1856-1923) in Mount Pleasant in 1894.  According to the 1906 "Ong Family of America," John W. Ong was a contractor and builder and probably inherited the chest, which subsequently passed into the hands of the Cleaver family.  What a great find!

"The Illinois Two Step" by Judson W. Ong, Jr (5 November 1880 - 11 July 1952)

Many thanks to our London correspondent, Les Ong, who has shared a copy of sheet music composed by a member of the U.S. branch of the family, published in 1898.  Due to the unusual name, it was relatively easy to conclude that the composer must be Judson W. Ong, Jr., the oldest child of Judson W. and Isabel (Mays) Ong born in Woodford County, Illinois on 5 November 1880.  So he would have been only 17 or 18 years old when this music was published, which is reflected in the youthful photograph on the cover.

A biography of Judson Ong, Jr appears in "The Book of Clevelanders: A Biographical Dictionary of Living Men of the City of Cleveland" (The Burrows Bros. Co, Cleveland: 1914) as follows:


   ONG, Judson W. Jr; piano business; born, Lacon, Ill., Nov. 5, 1880: son of Judson W. and Isabelle Mayes Ong; educated, Lacon, Ill., High School; married, Chicago, Ill., Jan. 2, 1902, Mercedes E. Armitage; one son and one daughter, William and Mercedes; entered the retail piano business with George P. Bent, of Chicago, when he was 18; has continued in the piano business; traveled for leading wholesale firms; promoted and built, with H. J. Anderson, one of the most successful player piano mechanisms; came to Cleveland in 1904; has managed the Piano Dept. of the Bailey Co., and was connected with several other firms; in 1911, became identified with the W. F. Frederick Piano Co., as city sales and advertising mgr.; at one time pres. and treas. of The Anderson Piano Co.; was one of the first to introduce the self-playing piano in the West and Middle West; was at one time connected with the New York store of John Wanamaker, as "special piano playing mechanism demonstrator," and received personal compliments of I. J. Paderewski, in this connection.


Sometime before the 1920 U.S. Census, Judson and Mercedes Ong had moved with their children to Kansas City, Missouri, where a significant number of their descendants still reside.  (Judson and Mercedes are the parents of pioneer aviator William Ong earlier profiled on the blog here.)  The 1930 census places Judson Ong on the road as a salesman lodging in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and the 1940 census has him back in Kansas City, but now remarried to Hulda Ragnhild Rasmussen (nee Olsen), born in Denmark in 1886, the widow of Michael M. Rasmussen (1880-1929).  (The "g" in Ragnhild is silent but lengthens the "a", so the name is pronounced "Raynhild" and often appears in records that way.)  Judson and Ragnhild subsequently moved to California, and they are both buried in Glendale in Los Angeles County.

The music is out of copyright of course, so appears below.  Which of our many musical cousins (your Editor among them) will be the first to post a recording?

Ongs in the British Army and Royal Navy during the First & Second World Wars

Lancashire Landing Cemetery, near Cape Hellas, Gallipoli, Turkey

In one of my earliest genealogical postings many years ago (and re-published by this blog here), I mentioned visiting the British Commonwealth Cemeteries in the Gallipoli penninsula of Turkey and unexpectedly coming across - and within only a few minutes of getting out of our car for the first time - the gravestone of an Ong.  I will elaborate a little:  I was living with my wife in Istanbul and working for the representative office of an American bank.  We were being visited by my mother-in-law, and decided to make a weekend trip by driving southwest along the Marmara Sea to Gallipoli which forms the west bank of the Dardanelles, the straits between the Marmara and the Aegean Seas.  This had been the scene of the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915 in which forces of the British Empire launched a direct attack on Turkey, or more properly the Ottoman Empire, which had allied itself with the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires.  The campaign is famous for having been a) the brainchild of Winston Churchill, the then-Liberal Member of Parliament and First Lord of the Admiralty (i.e. Cabinet member responsible for the Royal Navy), b) a humiliating defeat as the British forces failed to establish a front much beyond the initial beachheads leading to their evacuation after seven months, c) a crucible for the rising independent national identities of Australia and New Zealand, whose forces performed heroically in an ultimately losing effort, and d) the proving ground of senior Turkish commander Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who later became the Republic of Turkey's first President (re-named as Kemal Ataturk) as a result of his leadership and drive for Turkish independence with sovereignty over all of Anatolia after the the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1920s.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains 31 separate cemeteries with the remains of soldiers from predominantly Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India and Newfoundland

The cemeteries are scattered along the front of the campaign which for the most part lay very close to the western coast of the peninsula.  Our first visit was at the Lancashire Landing cemetery at Cape Hellas, where, as the name implies, the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers landed under very heavy enemy fire, and 80 of the men buried here died in the first two days of the campaign.   My wife, mother-in-law and I each randomly picked a row of gravestones and walked along and surveyed the names.  About halfway across "my" row, I came across: "W.H. Ong, Quartermaster Sergeant, Lancashire Fusiliers."  It was a very mystical experience - the odds of my seeing this out of over 20,000 headstones at Gallipoli were so low.  It was also a reminder of the English roots of my family, and of course made me curious to know about the Ongs in England had fared after my branch cast off to America in 1630.  That curiosity, on a broader scope, eventually led to this blog.

As I did a few years ago with the American Civil War, here below follows a list of those with the surname Ong who served in the British Armed Forces in World Wars I and II.  It is compiled from public records, and may contain errors, omissions and duplicates.  I have also not (yet!) reviewed these names for family relationships, although no doubt there are many.  One cousin, Harry Ong, a career seaman in the Royal Navy, served in both wars!

The lethality of WWI, where almost a third of the Ongs who served were killed or died of their wounds, is striking.

World War I (The Great War) 1914-1918

Albert Charles Victor Ong, Private, South Staffordshire Regiment, then Labour Corps

Alfred William Ong, Private, Northumberland Fusiliers, then Labour Corps 1916-1918

Alfred William Ong, Sergeant, Devonshire Regiment 1915-1920 (from London SW6)

Arthur Ong, Private, Royal Army Medical Corps (1917-19): Salonica, Russia and Turkey (1 year 1 month) (Served in Salonika, Russia & Turkey. Cited in London County Council Staff Record of Service)

Arthur Ong, Private/Sapper, Norfolk Regiment, then Royal Fusiliers, then Labour Corps, then Royal Engineers  (from Norwich, Norfolk)

Arthur John Ong, Private, 21st Bat., King's Royal Rifle Corps

Benjamin Ong, Lance Sergeant, 2nd Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment, killed in action, Loos, 27 Sep 1915 (from Pendleton, Salford, Greater Manchester.  Widow Lilian (Kerry)  Commemorated at Loos Memorial, Pas-de-Calais, France)

Cecil Samuel Baldry Ong, Private, 1st/4th Battalion, Essex Regiment, killed in action in Palestine 25 Nov 1917  (Aged 40.  From Norwich, Norfolk.  Buried at Ramleh War Cemetery, Palestine (now Ramla, Israel).  Son of Charles and Ellen Mary Ong, Husband of Rose Anna Ong of Norwich, Norfolk)

Edward Ong, Private, 9th Battalion, Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire) Regiment, killed in action 20 Sep 1917, Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) (from Salford, Lancashire.  Commemorated at Tyne Cot Memorial, West Flanders, Belgium)

Edward Ong, Private, 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers, killed in action 16 May 1917, Battle of Arras (Aged 20.  From Norwich, Norfolk.  Commemorated at Arras Memorial, France)

Ernest George Ong, Private, 2nd Battalion, Norfolk Regiment

Frederick Charles Ong, Private, 9th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, killed in action, France, 27 Mar 1918  (mother Fanny M. Ong of Islington, London.  Commemorated at Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France)

Frederick James Ong, 5th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, killed in action 24 Apr 1915 (Aged 24.  From Hammersmith, Greater London.  Buried at St. James Cemetery, Dover, Kent, England)

George Ong, Able Seaman, Royal Navy, 1908-1922 (from Fulham, London.  Distinguished Service Medal awarded in connection with operations in the Dardenelles on HMS Blenheim on night of 4/5 May 1915.  Awarded Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1931.)

George Ong, Private, 12th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment

George Albert Ong, Lance Corporal, 1st/7th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, died of wounds, Gallipoli, 7 Aug 1915 (from Salford, Lancashire.  Buried at Skew Bridge Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey)

George Walter Ong, Company Quarter Master Sergeant, 28th Manchester Regiment, 1908-1917

Harry Ong, Armourers Crew, Royal Navy, 1918- (from Seedley, Salford, Greater Manchester.  See WWII below.  Awarded General Service Medal.  Awarded Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1933.)

Herbert Stanley Ong, 2nd Garrison Battalion., Suffolk Regiment, 1915-1917  (from Harlow, Essex, son of William Warren Ong)

James William Ong, Private, Essex Regiment, then The King's (Liverpool) Regiment

John Ong, Private, 3rd Battalion, Notts & Derby Regiment (Sherwood Foresters), 1916-1918  (from Norwich, Norfolk)

John Ong, Sapper, 9th Co., Royal Engineers

John Ong, Royal Defence Corps

John Henry Ong, Gunner, London Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery

John Henry Ong, Sergeant, 13th, then 16th Batt., London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles) 1916-1919  (from Islington, London  (brother to Frederick Charles?) 

Joseph Ong, 5th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, then 2nd/5th Battalion Gloucester Regiment, then Labour Corps, 1914-1919

Joseph Ernest Ong, Sergeant, 1/7th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, 1913-16 (Wounded at Gallipoli.  from Pendleton, Salford, Greater Manchester)

Joseph Humphrey Ong, Private, Royal Army Medical Corps, killed in action, 21 Aug 1918 (Aged 40.  From Norwich, Norfolk.  Buried at Gommecourt Cemetery No. 2, Hebuterne, France.  Son of Edward & Elizabeth Ong.  Husband of Gertrude Ong of Norwich.)

Lawrence Arthur Ong, Private, 13th Battation, King's Liverpool Regiment, killed in action 19 May 1918 (Aged 18.  from Pendleton, Salford, Greater Manchester.  Buried at Pernes Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France.  Son of George W. and Aimie Ong)

Robert William Ong, Essex Yeomanry 1908-1914, then Driver, Royal Army Service Corps -1919

Ronald Lancelot Newman Ong, Gunner, Royal Garrison Artillery  (from Brentwood, Essex.  Son of Henry Ong)

Sidney Arthur Ong, 3rd Battalion, Norfolk Regiment, 1915-1918

Thomas Albert Ong, Driver, Royal Army Service Corps, 1914-1919

Thomas Ong, Chief Petty Officer, Royal Navy, 1893-1919 (from Norwich, Norfolk.  Awarded Distinguished Service Medal (plus bar))

Thomas Ong, Private, Royal Army Medical Corps, 1912-1919

Walter Ong, Private, 7th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers 1915-1919

William Ong, Private, 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment (captured Monchy-le-Preux, France, 14 Apr 1917)

William Ong, Warrant Officer, 4th East Lancashire Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, 1892-1916

William Ong, Private, 3rd Middlesex Regiment, then 13th then 6th Lancashire Fusiliers 1915-

William Ong, Private, King's Own Royal Lancashire Regiment

William Ong, Stoker Petty Officer, Royal Navy, 1905-17, lost in sinking from contact mine of HMS Derwent off Le Havre, France, 2 May 1917 (Aged 29.  From Norwich, Norfolk, son of William & Julia Ong, husband of Caroline Rebecca Ong of Norwich.  Commemorated at Chatham Naval Memorial, Kent)

William Ong, Private, 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment 1899-1917 (from Norwich, Norfolk)

William Ong, Private, 2nd/1st Suffolk Yeomanry, 1915-19

William George Ong, Gunner, Royal Marine Artillery, 1913-  (awarded Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1931)

William Henry Ong, Company Quarter Master Sergeant, 1/8th Lancashire Fusiliers, died of wounds, Gallipoli, 14 Jun 1915  (from Seedley, Salford, Greater Manchester.  Buried at Lancashire Landings Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey)

William John Ong, Private, Suffolk Regiment, then Labour Corps

World War II 1939-1945

A. Ong, Private, Royal Army Service Corps (POW Stalag 334, Labinowice, Poland)

Albert Edward Ong, Trooper, Staffordshire Yeomanry, Royal Armoured Corps, killed 15 June 1941, buried Damascus British War Cemetery #2, Syria (Aged 32.  Son of George & Mary Ong and husband of Nellie E.M. Ong; from Cheshunt, Hertfordshire) 

Basil Ong, General Service Corps

F.E. Ong, 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Pioneer Corps

G. Ong, Quarter Master, Royal Engineers

George Ernest Ong, Ordinary Seaman, Royal Navy, HMS Curacao, killed 24 April 1940 (from German airstrike during Norwegian Campaign.  Commemorated at Chatham Naval Memorial, Kent)


Harry Ong, Ordnance Artificer 1st Class, Royal Navy -1945 (see WWI above)

Robert William Ong, Private, Suffolk Regiment, killed in action 6 Jun 1944 in D-Day Landings.  (Aged 33.  Buried in Hermanville Cemetery, Calvados, Normandy, France)

Russell Ong, Sergeant, 6th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment (POW in Singapore)

Robert Glenn Ong (11 November 1924 - 31 January 2018)

World War II veteran, beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, friend

Robert Ong, 93, a resident of Elkton (FL) since 2005, stands as a shining example of what it meant to be part of “The Greatest Generation.” Known by friends and family as Bob, he was born in Uniontown, PA on November 11, 1924, the first of two children of William Ong and Ruth Strickler Ong.

The family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Ong attended Allegheny High School, graduating in 1942.

Soon thereafter, he felt the call to service and in November of 1942, joined the Army Strategic Air Forces and served his country both at home and abroad until January of 1946. During World War II, he was part of the Japan Air Offensive and the Western Pacific campaigns. Mr. Ong was awarded the American Theater Ribbon; the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with two Bronze Stars; the Good Conduct Medal; and the World War II Victory Medal.

Upon returning from the war, Mr. Ong embarked on a long and successful career in the construction industry, spending more than 40 years with Ragnar Benson, Inc. as a purchasing agent and financial controller. His career began in Pittsburgh but later took him to several large-scale commercial projects in Tennessee, Texas and Florida.

Mr. Ong was a talented pianist, avid swimmer, hiker and traveler. He was known to all as a kind and generous soul, with a wonderful sense of humor. He was an active member of the Veterans Club at Coquina Crossing, his last place of residence.

Mr. Ong is predeceased by his beloved wife Alice, and sister Doris. His three children survive him: Lorraine Cleghon, of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Valerie Ong, of Orlando Florida; and Robert Dale Ong of Elkins, West Virginia. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews as well as grandchildren and great grandchildren.

A military burial at Jacksonville National Cemetery will be announced once arrangements are completed.

(Published in St. Augustine (FL) Record on Feb 11, 2018.  h/t to Valerie Ong)