Wilson Michael Mui, 41, of San Francisco, CA, passed away on September 27, 2022, after a courageous battle with a rare neuroendocrine cancer.

Wilson was born on February 20, 1981, in San Francisco, CA to Calvin and Sandra Mui. He graduated from Westmoor High School in Daly City, CA in 1999, after spending a year at Clarkson University, a prestigious boarding school in upstate New York. Wilson was also baptized on December 26, 1999 and had a relationship with his Christian faith until his death.

Wilson attended UCLA where he obtained bachelor’s degrees in economics and mathematics in 2003 and was heavily involved in Delta Sigma Pi, where he met many of the close friends that supported him throughout his courageous battle and up until his final days.

After graduation, Wilson worked several jobs in Southern California with his longest tenure at State Street – an investment management and financial services firm. But the cubicle life was never for Wilson – much too dry and far too structured for the free-spirit that was innate throughout his life. In 2009, Wilson ventured off to Taipei to work for a startup company, which began more than a decade of world travel that left many to often ask [literally], “Where in the world is Wilson Mui?” The term ‘wanderlust’ is common in today’s lexicon, but Wilson’s desire to see the world went far beyond youthful fascination. Wilson personified the quote, “Life is short, and the world is wide”. For him, traveling the world was about personal introspection, cultural immersion, and a never-ending adventure that provided the color and texture for the painting that would become his life.

Between 2009 and early-2022, this ‘International Man of Mystery’ spent time in Taipei, Beijing, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Tokyo, London, Greece, France, Italy, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Thailand [at least that we know of].

However, Wilson was often a walking contradiction. He loved traveling the world but found the most peace spending time (often late into the night) with his close friends in California. He was someone that many would watch in horror as he took down two portions of the Mile-High Meatloaf at The Cheesecake Factory, but then could maintain a 6-pack of abs. Wilson was a guy’s guy who lived carefree, yet he took tremendous care and diligence in styling his long hair in a way that only a male model would. Those contradictions were not flaws; they were small idiosyncrasies that made “the Wilson we knew and loved”.

For those that were very close with Wilson, his social awkwardness became a trait of endearment. For all of us who ever had an awkward or embarrassing incident that we were not courageous enough to share, we all knew that we had a trusted confidante in Wilson. After all, no matter how bad our situation may have bruised our own egos, we always knew that Wilson had a similar story that made ours seem inconsequential. He leaves a void for many of us in having an ear that would always listen and lighten our moods that will never be filled – we each have tremendous gratitude for his friendship and humility.

Wilson experienced tragedy as a young teenager, losing both of his parents within a very short period of time, but he never showed any resentment nor ever used that void as an excuse for any of his pitfalls. He lived life as a kind-hearted optimist always pushing his friends to try new things, daring each of us into ridiculous challenges (that usually involved girls and were often met with failure), and encouraging us to embrace the strong sense of carpe diem that defined him.

In his final months, Wilson was reflective in his thoughts never shying away from providing advice. He left behind many valuable life lessons, but the central themes were that time is the ultimate currency, and that personal relationships is where life’s true wealth is built and stored.

Wilson was preceded in death by his parents (Calvin and Sandra Mui), and is survived by his sister (Anna Mui), brother-in-law (Seng Nguy), nephew (Timothy Nguy), and niece (Sarah Nguy). 

His family would like to express gratitude to all those who showed support, encouragement, and generosity in his final months, with particular emphasis on the contributions from Erick Chang, Lam Dinh, Kevin Lee, Annette Wong, Christabel Wong, Josh Yang, and his high school church support group. 

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