Wah On "Dennis" Kwan

Born in China as the third son of a family of seven brothers, Wah On “Dennis” Kwan was raised in Hong Kong. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the National Cheng Kung University of Taiwan in 1961. Upon graduation, Dennis returned to Hong Kong to practice structural engineering and earned his professional registration. He worked for various firms, but served the period spanning from 1967 to 1988 in the Architectural Services Department of Her Majesty’s Government.

In 1968 he married Susanna Ng. The couple gave birth to a son and daughter, Clarence and Selina. Dennis and Susanna raised a lovely family surrounded by many friends and neighbors on Hong Kong Island. This was a period of time most treasured by Dennis. In 1988, at the age of 50, Dennis moved his family to the United States and created a new beginning in Bellevue, Washington, where they made many more happy memories together. During this time, he practiced at his best friend Bill Chan’s structural engineering firm in Seattle.

Dennis earned his US citizenship in 1992. After which, Dennis returned to Hong Kong to start his own structural engineering practice, which was “hard work but rewarding.” After a couple of decades of a successful second career, Dennis never fully retired from his professional life, as many of his business partners, colleagues and classmates continued to seek his advice and guidance, which he would provide regularly and without hesitation.

As his physical health declined while in Hong Kong in 2021, Dennis expressed a wish to return home to the United States, “where his whole clan lives.” Surrounded by his family during his last days, Dennis passed away peacefully in his sleep in a hospital where he was one of the engineers on Bill’s team who upgraded the building. Dennis is survived by Susanna, Clarence, Selina (Oliver), his brothers James (Hwa-mei), Peter (Cecilia), Calvin (Jeanne), Ed (Mary), as well as many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, friends in the United States, in Hong Kong and around the world. Dennis will be remembered for his devotion to family - as a dedicated husband, a loving father, for being a generous and loyal friend, and as a consummate professional engineer.

Funeral service and witness cremation will be held on November 18th, 11am at Columbia Funeral Home and Crematory (4567 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98118), followed by lunch at The Golf Club at Newcastle (15500 Six Penny Lane, Newcastle, WA 98059). Florals can be arranged through Neilsen Florist (Lisa at neilsenflorist.com 206-932-2880). Donations in Dennis’s name are collected via Susanna, for two of their favorite charities in Hong Kong.