Bishop to ordain Derek Wong '73 as Permanent Deacons in January 2024
By Jennifer Rector | Hawaii Catholic Herald
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Deacon candidates of Cohort 10 stand with Bishop Larry Silva at St. Stephen Diocesan Center, from left, Michael Browning, John Metz, Derek Wong, John Thomas, Jason Jacinto, Darryl Salvador, David Bruce, Marlowe Sabater. (Photo by Dann Ebina)
Derek Wong ‘75, born at St. Francis Hospital in Honolulu, Derek Wong grew up on Pearl City and graduated from Damien Memorial High School in 1975. He earned a degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount University. He moved to the mainland, returning to Hawaii in 1996.
Wong, 66, has worked in human resources and as a manager for several companies, retiring as a district sales manager for Hunter Douglas in 2019.
Wong met his wife, Lani, while working at GTE California. They married in California in August 1991 and have two children, Robert, 31, and Kela, 29. The Wongs are enjoying two grandchildren from their son Robert.
Lani Wong was instrumental in Derek’s journey to the Catholic faith. He did not belong to any religious denomination until he went through the RCIA program in 2016-2017. “One would think that after graduating from a Catholic high school and Jesuit university, I was already a Catholic. But only after battling panic/anxiety attacks from 2013 to 2016 did I find my faith and love for God who had a plan for me and Lani for our future. When I stepped through the doors of St. Jude Church in Kapolei, I finally felt peace and the Holy Spirit. I have not had a panic/anxiety attack since then.”
After converting to Catholicism, Wong became a eucharistic minister, lector and acolyte. He is also a part-time chaplain for St. Francis Hospice Services. “I found my ministry in hospice,” he said.
Wong is a parishioner at St. Jude.