Moiteang (May) Wong Sanchez passed from this life into the presence of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in glory on July 28, 2022, with one hand held by her beloved husband, Eduardo (Ed) M. Sanchez, and the other by her beloved son, Jonathan G.W. Sanchez at each side.  May was a resident of Hanover Park, IL at the time of her passing.

May was born on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao when it was being invaded during the early weeks of WWII. Her parents, Wong Tan and Wong Kam, immigrated to the Philippines from the Toisan region of China in the early 20th century.  She was one of 8 siblings who survived to adulthood, including 5 brothers and 2 other sisters. The Wongs owned a small general merchandise store in Digos City. The family lived above the store and while growing up, May and the other children would help out in the store when not in school. May and her siblings would end up speaking four languages: Toisanese at home, Cebuano/Visayan in the community, and Tagalog and English at school. She attended Digos Elementary School and then MC Digos Junior College for high school where she graduated class salutatorian in 1959.  She then left for Davao City to attend Mindanao Colleges (later The University of Mindanao) where she earned a B.S.C. (accounting) degree in 1963.

Following college, May's career was in banking/accounting. She worked for Metrobank in Davao City during the 1960s and after moving to the United States in late 1970, she started working for Central National Bank in downtown Chicago in 1971. She continued working for the same bank as it changed ownership over the decades: from Central to Exchange National Bank, then LaSalle National Bank (later part of ABN AMRO), and then Bank of America, from which she retired in 2008. She was an Assistant Vice President with much of her work focused on commercial lending/reconciliation.

May was baptized on October 24, 1964 at the Davao Gospel Center Church in Davao City and would remain an active member of Christian and Missionary Alliance churches for the rest of her life.  At Davao Gospel, she helped lead the young people's ministry as president of the church's Alliance Youth Fellowship.  Although classmates in college, May would not get to know Ed until they were in the same workplace. She was instrumental in his coming to Christ in 1965, and they would marry at Davao Gospel on October 28, 1972.  At the time of her passing, they were just three months short of marking their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

After arriving in the Chicago area in the early 1970s, May and Ed joined Northwest Alliance Church, which then existed in Chicago, while living in Forest Park.  After moving west to DuPage County in 1978, May and Ed joined Wheaton Chinese Alliance Church (WCAC) in Wheaton in 1979 and became charter members when the church incorporated in 1980.  Through her years at WCAC, May faithfully and quietly served the Lord in a number of ways.  For many decades, she served in the children's Sunday School and worship ministry, helping introduce generations of the church's youngest members to knowing who God is as revealed in His word and His saving love for them in Christ. Starting in the 1980s, May and Ed also began serving as the church's communion preparation coordinators and continued in this capacity for around 35 years as the church grew from one to three worship services.  For years, she also took care of WCAC's altar flower and Mother's Day flower programs.  May was also an active member of her small group Bible study and a behind the scenes supporter and booster of the church's missions ministry, which her son helped lead for around fifteen years.

May was lovingly devoted to her husband and son, always looking out for their well-being. She made it possible for her son to take music lessons as a child and receive a Christian education from preschool to graduate school. Like others in her extended family, May was a good cook and also enjoyed baking for family, friends, and church gatherings.  As she got older, some of that interest shifted to trying new places to eat and collecting cookbooks. She set a good example of kindness and generosity and enjoyed buying and giving gifts to others. She was adept at making small talk with those she did not yet know. She knew how to put the needs of others ahead of her own.

In the 1960s, May inscribed her favorite verse, Galatians 2:20, in an album: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."  Though small in stature, the life of Christ shone brightly in and through her.

May was preceded in death by her parents, five of her siblings (Hilario Wong Sr., Antonio Liño Sr., Gemo Wong Sr., Gemping Wong, and Elizabeth Wong Liong), and a number of in-laws, nieces, and nephews. She is survived by her husband and son, her sister Marie Wong (Juanito) Du, her brother Gemwee (Yolanda) Wong, sister-in-law, Dialina Wong, plus many nephews, nieces, and their descendants.

A funeral service will be held at Wheaton Chinese Alliance Church, 1748 Blanchard St, Wheaton, IL 60189, on Saturday, August 13, 2022, at 11:00 a.m.