Juel Shi Chen Ng Craig

Nacida el 27 de enero de 1937 en Colón, República de Panamá

At the age of six I entered St. Mary’s Academy in Colon and stayed in that school through high school where I studied to be a secretary.  Upon graduation I took a secretarial job at a shipping company, Wilford and McKay, in Colon.

At age 20 I entered a contest and won the honor of becoming the Carnival Queen, representing the Chinese Community in Colon. 

In 1958 I met my future husband, Steve, at a party in my own home and two years later, in 1960, I married him while I was on vacation in Berkeley, California.  Steve and I moved to El Cerrito, California and after three years of marriage, we bought a home in El Cerrito and had our first child, Joycelin, born on September 6, 1963. 

80-JUEL-Graduation-Ball

Three years later, our son Roderick was born on May 27, 1966.  As a homemaker, I had the time to be very involved at our children’s schools and became president of the PTA and headmaster of an after school Chinese cultural and language school.  I also was very active in the local Girl Scout organization as a parent leader.  My brother, Augusto, came to live with us in 1966 while he attended high school and college.  Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, my nephews, Marcial and David and my niece, Jennifer, came to live with us and attended schools in El Cerrito.  When not caring for children, I had time to serve for one year as a Board member at Chaparral House, a nursing home in Berkeley.  I also assisted my Mother-in-law, Dr. Leela Craig, with the paperwork associated with her medical practice. When our grandson Julian was born in 1997, I provided his day care for six years until he started school full time in the fall of 2003.  I enjoy traveling and look forward to taking more trips now that Julian is in school.  I like to collect dolls, Hummel figurines, and Elvis memorabilia.  I am actively collecting information about all of my family members and ancestors in order to complete an Ng family genealogy and history

Phone: 510-234-0887

E-mail: craigng@aol.com

My husband, Steven Brooks Craig was born on December 29, 1936 in San Francisco, California, and he grew up in Berkeley, California.  He attended Cragmont Elementary School, Garfield Junior High School, and Berkeley High School.  Upon graduation from high school in December, 1954, he started work as a Machinist Apprentice and five months later as an Attendant in a State Park.  In the fall of 1955 he entered Oakland City College and after completing one semester he began a three year enlistment in the United States Army.  While he was serving in Panama, I met him through my cousin Suiling who brought him to a party at my home.  In February of 1959, just six months after I met him, his enlistment was over and he returned to Berkeley to live with his parents.  In March 1959, he entered Healds College where he studied to be an Electronic Technician.  On September 5, 1960, he got a job as an Electronics Technician for the California Academy of Sciences’ Morrison Planetarium.  Soon after, on October 1, 1960, we were married at a private ceremony in his family home in Berkeley.  Over the next 25 years, several members of my family came to live with us and life was quite busy at our home.  Steve continued to work at the Academy for the next forty-three years, a career which will end on December 31, 2003.  During his long career at the Academy of Sciences he has held several positions.  First he was a Planetarium Technician, and then he was appointed Shop Superintendent, followed by Museum Operations Manager, and finally, Planetarium Director.  He has been interested in automobiles since he was four years old and still considers fooling around with cars to be his main hobby though he also restores antique furniture.  He enjoys spending time at the Craig Ranch, a family vacation home since 1936, near Willits, California.  He has served for eight years on the Board of Directors of Chaparral House, a non-profit nursing home in Berkeley, and for ten years as a Corporate Board member of the Challenge Machinery Company in Michigan.  

My daughter, Joycelin Lee Craig, was born on September 6, 1963 in Berkeley, California.  She attended Castro Elementary School, Portola Jr. High School, and El Cerrito High, and The University of California at Santa Barbara.  She later attended Contra Costa College where she took business courses at night.  Since college, she has held jobs at many organizations, including The Nature Company, Sony, AOL, Landmark Calendars, Learning Curve, Great Entertaining, E-Color, and her present job in marketing at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.  While in school in El Cerrito she was very active in Girl Scouts and received the highest rank.  She took piano lessons as a child and later took flute lessons and performed with musical groups through high school and college.  This avocation became a hobby and she continued to perform with an adult group until it interfered with her work and home life.  She considers gardening to be her current hobby.  Joycelin met Conrad Lopez through some mutual friends and on June 6, 1992 they were married in a beautiful ceremony in Mill Valley, California.  Not long after their marriage, they bought a cute home in a very nice neighborhood in San Francisco, where they have lived ever since.  On September 18, 1997, their son, Julian, was born, and he is the apple of my eye.  Both Joycelin and Conrad have volunteered with Julian’s schools.  They enjoy traveling as a family and hope to take many more trips now that Julian is older.

Phone: 415-469-9921

E-mail: joycecon@mindspring.com

My son, Roderick Keith Craig (Rory), was born at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley on May 27, 1966.  He attended Castro Elementary School, Portola Jr. High School, and El Cerrito High School.  He played little league baseball and spent many years in the Boy Scouts.  He took piano lessons as a kid but later took up the French horn and played in the Concert Band at El Cerrito High School.  Upon graduation from high school, Rory entered the University of California, Berkeley but then switched to Diablo Valley College and finally to Hayward State University where he received a degree in Computer Science.  He then worked for the Chiron Corporation for over five years before becoming self employed.  He is an avid rock climber and spends many of his weekends in the Sierra Mountains and elsewhere with his fellow climbers.  He has always resided in the Bay Area and currently lives in Oakland near Lake Merritt.

Phone: 510-465-1637

E-mail: hidose@pipeline.com

My son-in-law, Conrad Arthur Lopez, was born in Marysville, California on June 20, 1956.  The oldest of six kids, he grew up in the agricultural area near Sacramento, California.  His family moved to southern California when he was in the fifth grade and he eventually graduated form Burroughs High School in Burbank.  Conrad attended Los Angeles City College for two years and then transferred to the University of Oregon where he received a degree in Journalism.  In 1980 he moved to Palo Alto, California where he worked for a weekly newspaper.  An outstanding tennis player, he began teaching tennis at private clubs in the Bay Area and then in 1983 he started teaching full-time at the Eichler Swim and Tennis Club in Palo Alto where he has remained ever since.  He was living in San Francisco when he met Joycelin in 1989.  He is an avid golfer and enjoys all sports.  

My Grandson, Julian Conner Lopez, was born at CPMC in San Francisco on September 18, 1997.  This is the same hospital where my husband, Steve, was born in 1936 – at that time it was called Children’s Hospital.  Soon after Julian was born I began taking care of him during the daytime while Joycelin and Conrad worked.  When Julian was three years old he started attending Wind in the Willows Pre-school.  Just before his sixth birthday he started Kindergarten at Lakeshore Elementary School in San Francisco.  Julian has a wide range of interests, and at present he is most interested in The Beatles, baseball, and soccer.  However, he also takes piano lessons, which he enjoys, and he shows a keen interest in his school work.