Federal economist, professor Yau Sing Leong dies at 105
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Yau Sing Leong gave sound advice: "All I can say is to work as hard as you can, achieve as much as you can and don't worry about anything else."
Leong, a retired federal government economist and professor of business economics at the University of Hawai'i, died Jan. 30. He was 105.
Yau Sing Leong was the first person of Chinese ancestry to serve with the Bureau of Budget in Washington, D.C., now known as the Office of Management and Budget.
Government records show that Leong was born on Aug. 14, 1899, which would make him 104. But Loretta Chun said her father had no birth certificate and the family believes he was a year old when his birth was registered with the government.
Leong was born in Kaluanui, and spent his early childhood on the family rice farm. His family moved to town and he graduated from McKinley High, the University of Hawai'i, and went on to receive a doctorate in economics at Columbia University.
For more than 20 years, Leong worked in Washington, D.C., as an economist and statistician for the National Recovery Administration, the Central Statistical Board, and was the first person of Chinese ancestry to serve with the Bureau of Budget, now known as the Office of Management and Budget.
In 1954, Leong returned home and taught business economics and statistics at the University of Hawai'i, where he served as the economics department chairman from 1959 to 1967. He retired in 1968, but continued to work as a professor emeritus for several years.
He remained active for most of his life and was an avid tennis player well into his 90s.
Leong wrote the book "Silver," published by the Brookings Institution, and a chapter in the 1988 book "Sailing for the Sun — The Chinese in Hawai'i 1789-1989."
At 100, Leong was interviewed for the University of Hawai'i's "Oral Histories of Hawai'i-born Faculty of Color" project. In it, he said hard work will almost always pay off.
Leong is survived by his wife of 70 years, Elizabeth; daughters Loretta Chun, Betty Barker and Carol Wooten; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Visitation is at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Diamond Head Mortuary; service at 11:30 a.m. Burial is at Diamond Head Memorial Park. The family requests no flowers and casual attire.
Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.
