4 minute read
Meet Tony and Christina: Enjoying semi-retirement in beautiful Northgate
www.NorthgateLivingCA.com @NorthgateLivingCA #NorthgateLivingCA
COVER PHOTO: by Julie Cheshire Photography
Story by Kara Navolio, Resident since 1991
Although Tony Wolcott and Christina Shih did not know each other in 1993, both were headed to California and destined to meet in Walnut Creek many years later. As a Chinese saying goes, “This is love by fate.”
Christina was born and raised in Taiwan. She came to the United States to pursue higher education, graduating with an M.S. in accounting from the University of Hartford in Connecticut. Her first job took her to New York at Merrill Lynch. After she divorced, in 1993, she took her three sons and moved to Walnut Creek, settling in Northgate for the great schools, the well-tended homes and yards, walking trails and the peaceful, quiet environment. Christina went to work for Bank of America and later Kaiser Permanente as a Business Consultant. Her mother lived with her and helped her raise her sons, Chris, Cliff and Victor – all adults now. All three attended Northgate High School.
Tony was born in Vancouver, British Columbia while his father had taken a five-year assignment designing hydro-electric projects. The family returned to California, and Tony attended high school in the South Bay. After earning his Bachelor’s degree from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, he earned his teaching credential and taught high school math and English and college Adult Ed. While living in British Columbia he married and had a daughter, Tavia, who now lives in Phoenix, AZ.
2018 wedding of Tony and Christina. Pictured from left to right: Victor, Chris, Tony, Cliff, Catherine and sitting is the lovely bride, Christina
In 1993 Tony also moved to California after his divorce, but he would not meet Christina until 2015, at Noah’s Bagels in the Countrywood Shopping Center.
“I was waiting in line to order a Santa Fe sandwich. I noticed a lovely Asian woman directly in front of me,” says Tony.
“Tony impressed me with his knowledge about Taiwan and our mutual love of basketball. His favorite song, Hotel California, happens to me my favorite too,” says Christina.
That was the beginning of their friendship. When they met, Tony was making plans to move back to his birthplace in Canada where he has a beautiful house on Pender Island overlooking the sound. But meeting Christina changed everything. “I was attracted to her intelligence, loving heart and kindness,” says Tony. “I decided to stay in California to be with her.” Tony helped Christina take care of her ailing mother through her dementia. A year after she passed away, Tony proposed and they were married in 2018 in their backyard.
Tony added to his education by pursuing his interest in nature, taking classes in arboriculture and landscape design. He owned a landscape and irrigation company, worked for Friends of the Urban Forest, graduated from the American Society of Consulting Arborists academy (ASCA), and holds a Board Certified Master Arborist credential with the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). He has taught plant related courses at Diablo Valley College. He is now a consulting arborist, landscape designer, author of many articles on trees, and an expert tree witness in legal cases. He is happy to help other Northgate families with tree-related questions when time allows.
One of his hobbies also involves wood – he collects valuable specimens and turns them into bowls, benches, tables, etc., which are sold at the Shadelands Art Center’s Holiday Art Sale. He also volunteers at Ruth Bancroft Garden and loves playing basketball. He and Christina’s son Cliff play in an annual 3-on-3 Shootout for Cystic Fibrosis. Both he and Christina love all things Golden State Warriors and cheer them on whether at home or on the road.
Christina has recently taken a step visit Rome out of the stressful business world and now works part-time for a nonprofit. She loves to cook and invents her own recipes. Her creativity also extends into painting, drawing, and playing the piano, a skill she taught herself.
Tony and Christina visit Rome
Tony and Christina love to travel, making recent trips to Taiwan, Europe and all over Canada and the US.
But Northgate and family always draw them home. “Our neighbors
are friendly and supportive. We have lots of fruit trees, and we all share our bountiful harvests,” says Tony.
Christina’s sons all live in California and practice the ideals their mother taught them about giving back to their communities. Chris is a bay area math teacher and is very involved with Camp Rising Sun, the Louis August Jonas Foundation, and Innovative International Leadership program for high school students. He has helped some of his students from disadvantaged family backgrounds gain acceptance to this very prestigious and competitive program. Cliff, a bay area family physician, helped build homes in Mexico and raised money, with his brother Victor, an owner of a security control company, to teach English and spread gospels in rural China.
“Families are all about heart and love,” says Christina. “We are a Christian family (attending Contra Costa Gospel Church); we love God. We are always together for Thanksgiving, and we will sit together to count down to each New Year,” says Christina.
On the eve of Chinese New Year the children would stay up as late as possible because it is believed in family tradition that the later you stay up, the longer your beloved parents will live. Christina must have made it up late many times, as her mother made it past her 100th birthday.
