Lily Goon

Lily Hing – (also known as Lily Goon)

Lily Hing passed away peacefully at her retirement residence this past week at Grandview, Sun City West, Arizona, with family, including her three sons, Douglas, Edward and Larry close by. She found great joy in her later years living near her sons Edward, of Chicopee, MA, and Douglas, of Glendale AZ, after a generation spent living near her son Larry in the SF Bay Area. Her sons are thankful for the time she spent among us, calling each of our hometowns her hometown among the years.

Lily was, at heart, an adventurer. As a young woman, she left behind war and upheaval in China, coming to the United States at the age of 22. From those beginnings, she built a remarkable life. After her early work with the renowned Ruby Foo’s in New York City, she went on to establish one of the first high-end Chinese restaurants in suburban New Jersey – a place known as Hing’s China Inn, bringing a new level of dining and hospitality to her community. Her real name was Lily Goon, but she and her husband had the business sense to know that “Goon’s China Inn” wouldn’t cut it, except perhaps, as the name of a sitcom, which may come to fruition perhaps in another lifetime. It was another of her reinventions which she would adopt in her long and colorful life.

Accordingly, she and her husband were known to many as Mr. and Mrs. Hing – and she as Lily Hing, proprietor of Hing’s Chinese Inn. At Hing’s China Inn – known generally just as “Hing's" she created not only a restaurant but a gathering place at the heart of the Englewood Cliffs community. Those years were among her happiest, marked by her generosity, her tireless work, and her deep involvement in local life, including sponsoring a local Little League team and contributing to the growth of Englewood Cliffs as a wonderful place to live.

She also found a second life as a hostess in Florida, a boom town through her time there in the 1980s in several distinguished Chinese restaurants as hostess and “front of the house” as she liked to call it. She is most proud of her presence in the “celebrity corner” of East Ocean Restaurant in Boca Raton where she was featured in the celebrity photos that adorned the walls of that storied establishment, where she shined as brightly as the guests she was proud to serve.

Her life was as cosmopolitan as it was creative. She was known for her elegance and presence, maintaining an extensive wardrobe of custom-made dresses from China and Hong Kong, and her glowing personality which included a couple of stories in the local papers about her flamboyant and exciting life. She stood at the front of the restaurant not simply as a proprietor, but as a figure of warmth and style, welcoming guests into an experience and a life she carefully shaped.

At home, Lily expressed her artistic gifts in many forms. She was a painter, a singer, and a piano player, and later in life returned to her cultural roots through Chinese brush painting. Some of her works remain in the homes of friends and families in Englewood Cliffs, quiet reflections of her enduring creativity.

She is survived by her sons, Douglas Loo of Phoenix, Arizona; Lawrence Hing of San Francisco, California; and Edward Hing of Holyoke, Massachusetts. She is also survived by her brothers, Leon Cheng of Clifton, New Jersey, and Raymond Cheng of Madrid, Spain, along with many extended family members who will remember her with love and respect.

A remembrance will be held at George Washington Memorial cemetery and Riewert’s Memorial Funeral Home in Bergenfield, New Jersey on Thursday, May 28, 2026, 10.00 am to 12:15 pm, with a receiving of her friends. You are all invited to pay your respects. She will be laid to rest beside her husband, Jin Hing Goon, and her beloved parents, Wei-Fun Cheng and Miu Hing Cheng, all not too far from where her journey as Mr. and Mrs. Hing made for her happiest times. We will be participating in final rites at her resting place at George Washington Memorial Park, 234 Paramus Road, Paramus, NJ 07652, immediately following visitation

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to APIA Scholars, supporting the education of Asian American and Pacific Islander students—a cause that reflects her deep belief in opportunity, hard work, and the transformative power of education. Flowers are also welcome, as Lily took great pleasure in their beauty.

Lily lived a long and full life of 98 years. Many of the people she knew best and loved most have gone before her, and she now joins them.

Lily kept some of her mysteries. The details no longer matter.

It was a remarkable life.

May 28, 2026

10:00 am - Noon

Riewerts Memorial Home

187 South Washington Ave. Bergenfield, NJ 07621

Immediately following

George Washington Memorial Park,

234 Paramus Road

Paramus, NJ 07652

https://www.riewertsmemorialhome.com/

https://apiascholars.org/ways-to-give/