Calvin F. Tam

Date of Death: January 25, 2023

Calvin Tam, of San Francisco, passed away at the age of 75, Wednesday, January 25th at Kaiser
Hospital near his home in Richmond, CA due to complications with his heart.
Calvin was born in Pasadena to parents Harry Tam and Kay Suie Wong and was the oldest of their 5 children. He lived in LA until the age of 8, after which he moved to Palo Alto, then to Mountain View, and then finally to the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco where he took classes in Gung Fu and Lion Dance with the Golden Lions in San Francisco Chinatown.

He attended SF City College, but before he could graduate, he was drafted into the US
Army for the war in Vietnam. He was sent to Washington State for basic training, and
then deployed to Vietnam at the age of 21. A member of the Americal Division, he was
involved in some of the most intense fighting of the entire war in the summer of 1969.

Once discharged from the army, he worked as a bag checker at the San Francisco International Airport for a short time and then moved to San Diego to operate his father’s restaurant. In the 1980s he moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area and settled in El Cerrito where he worked for Pacific Bell in their customer service department.

He was also an avid environmentalist, volunteering often with the Watershed Project and Friends of Baxter Creek, environmental restoration groups in El Cerrito that would remove invasive weeds from the Point Isabel Area. He enjoyed the sunshine and exercise the work demanded, and became friends with some of the other members.

Dementia set in during the last 5 years of his life, complicating a number of other health issues, which, for better or worse, drew his siblings and nephews closer to him as they managed his care.

Above all, he was a true raconteur who loved to regale people
with stories of his travels, his observations, and his critiques of
anything and everything. He was never so animated as when he was
telling a story. It brought him so much joy to share and laugh with people. We will always remember his stories and the energy with which he told them.

Calvin will be interred on June 12, 2023, 2pm at:
Sacramento Valley Cemetary
5810 Midway Road

Dixon, CA

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Calvin is like a brother to me, I start working for him March 10,2020 where I met Margo and Alva, they are both really nice to me.. I appreciate everything and until Calvin passed away last January 25,2023. Working with Calvin is like visiting a friend or relative , we have lots of good times going out for a walk , have some coffee , lunch and even going to my house and eat with my family ..We missed him .I enjoyed working with him and take a long walk in Marina bay, Point Richmond, Miller Knox park even in Heather farms in Walnut creek and Pleasant Hill park. During rainy times we go to Sunvalley mall in Concord and Target, Home depot where He knew a lot of stuff in that store. He keeps telling me careful driving..Calvin will truly be remembered by many of his family and friends for being such a good person ...Thank you Calvin for all the memories ...Rest In Peace .

Please accept our deepest condolences for your family's loss.