Long-time Turlock resident and business owner Corine Gen died on July 22, at the age of 94.  Gen was a co-owner of the Golden Hour Restaurant, a Chinese-American restaurant that served Turlock from 1968 at its Main Street location.  The Turlock City Council recognized her and her husband Andrew’s contribution to downtown commerce when they sold the business in 2001. 

Gen was born in the Guangdong province of China, on October 29, 1929.  

As a high school graduate, she pursued a career in elementary education.  But that career was cut short by the communist revolution, and she and Andrew fled to Hong Kong where they married in 1953.  

The couple immigrated to the United States in 1955.  For 12 years they searched for a community to call home, with stays at San Antonio, Texas; Ogden Utah; and Oakland and Walnut Creek, California.  

In 1968, they found Turlock, set their roots, opened their restaurant, and stayed there for the next 33 years.  They were very grateful for the warm welcome that the community showed them and their four boys.  

Gen retired to Sacramento in 2001, where she spent her remaining years.  Her husband Andrew died in 2013.

She is survived by her sons and their spouses Ray and Joanne Gen, Sherman and Bonnie Holmes-Gen, Justin Gen, and Sheldon and Laine Gen; and six grandchildren Andrew, Bethany, Lucas, Lynn, Miranda, and Dahlia.  

A private service will be held in Sacramento.