Ernie Go seated behind Fr Ismael Zuloaga SJ with his wife Jenny (right) and their daughter Yvonne | Photo from Xavier School’s Facebook page
Mr Ernest “Ernie” Go was a longtime friend and benefactor of the Jesuits in Asia Pacific. He was a good friend of then Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania President Fr Ismael G Zuloaga SJ, and for many years helped grow the modest investments of the conference and the East Asian Pastoral Institute. More recently, he supported the Cambodian mission. His wife, Jenny Huang-Go, was the first lay principal of a Jesuit school. She served as principal of Xavier School in Manila, and the first woman Education Secretary of the Conference. Mr Go died on January 24 in San Francisco, California at the age of 85, ending a life of generous service to the Church and deep engagement with the Jesuits.
His nephew, Fr Danny Huang SJ, has written a tribute in memory of his Uncle Ernie.
RIP Ernest Go.
I was awakened at 2:30 am on January 24 by the sad news from my sister Mimi that my Uncle Ernie Go, husband of my father’s youngest sister Jenny, had passed away in San Francisco at the age of 85. Auntie Jenny and Uncle Ernie had been planning to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this coming June 2020. They met in the 1950s, when they were both students at Fordham University in New York.
Uncle Ernie was the founder, and, for many years, Chairman and CEO of the Bank of the Orient, based in San Francisco, with branches in California, Hawaii, and China. He and my Aunt were committed and generous collaborators of the Jesuits. Aunt Jenny was the first woman to be appointed Secretary of Education of a Jesuit Conference, that of East Asia and Oceania (as it was then called). For his part, Uncle Ernie stewarded and grew the modest investments of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania and the East Asian Pastoral Institute for many years. Along with Auntie Jenny, he was also a generous benefactor to the then California Province of the Society, helping St Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco, the Jesuit retirement facility in Los Gatos, and the Province itself. Thanks to his business contacts in China, he and my Aunt were able to bring a significant number of Jesuit priests and scholastics from different countries to teach English in Xiamen, China for over a decade. Also thanks to these contacts, Uncle Ernie facilitated Cardinal Jaime Sin’s triumphant semi-official visit to China in 1984, and accompanied him on that historic tour. He served on the Finance Committee of the Archdiocese of San Francisco under three archbishops. For his many services, Uncle Ernie was made a papal Knight of St Gregory the Great (and soon after that, his first grandson was named Gregory!). When I think about it now, I actually don’t recall Uncle Ernie ever talking about any of these benefactions or services. What he did, he did sincerely, discreetly, humbly.
I remember and appreciate Uncle Ernie most as the kindest and gentlest of men, a deeply loving husband and father, an affectionate and doting grandfather, an always welcoming and smiling uncle, with many interesting opinions and stories. He appreciated good wine and food, and it was a pleasure to dine with him, because he always encouraged me to do the same! He loved to travel with his wife, children and grandchildren, and one of my happy memories was celebrating an anticipated Midnight Mass in Rome with the whole clan on Christmas Eve of 2013. It always amused me to watch him deal with the strong Huang women around him (his wife, his daughters Yvonne and Monique, not to mention the many in-laws and nieces!) with patience and humour. “They always tell the same stories and take such a long time to say goodbye,” he would whisper to me. I am grateful that I was able to bring him the consolation of the sacrament of the anointing of the sick this past December, and that we were able to celebrate Mass in his room with the family on Christmas Day 2019. He bore the sufferings of five years of struggle with cancer with quiet grace and courage, and shared with me his deep gratitude for the care he was receiving, especially from Auntie Jenny.
May he rest in the peace and joy of the risen Lord, who can now answer some of the tough theological questions he used to ask me! May this same merciful Lord console and strengthen his grieving family. Thank you for everything, Uncle Ernie!
