Rene Leon was born in Havana, Cuba, on August 4, 1931.  He was the youngest of six children born to his parents (Leung Kai-Pong and Kong-Ying (Sophia) Li). He had one brother and four sisters and spent most of his childhood and adolescence in Guangzhou, China.

In 1950, when he was 18 years old and after graduating high school (Pui Ching), Rene returned to Cuba with his father to take care of the family business, El Asia, located in downtown Havana.  That same year, he met the love of his life, Margarita (Puig), who worked at the business. They eventually dated and later married in 1959. Margarita was the only child of her parents, Juan and Amparo Puig. 

In 1962, Rene and Margarita immigrated from Cuba to the U.S.A., settling in Sacramento, California. When they left Cuba, they could only bring a few personal items, and they had to “start over.”  For over 30 years, he worked in Hospitality for Host Marriott International Corporation. He worked very hard to provide for his family, and for years had additional jobs which resulted in him working 7 days a week. He rarely took a day off and even worked on holidays.

Rene and Margarita always wanted to have a family.  In 1964, they had their first son, John. In 1966, they had their second son, Daniel. In 1968, they had their third son, Michael. Rene regularly referred to them as “my three sons.” Later in life, they were overjoyed when they became grandparents to Joseph, Jacob, and Sarah. 

Rene was fluent in three languages (Chinese, English, Spanish). It was not uncommon to hear him at home speaking to Margarita and/or her parents in Spanish, speaking to his sons in English, and speaking over the telephone to his mother, siblings, and/or friends in Chinese.  He would also regularly read publications in the three languages. 

Due to his life experiences and the places he lived, Rene said that he felt like he lived several lives and always reflected a lot on situations (including several wars) that he survived and overcame. Rene enjoyed spending time and keeping in touch with his family, including his children and grandchildren, parents, brother and sisters (and their spouses), nephews and nieces, and close friends, many of whom lived locally in Sacramento, in different parts of the country (e.g., Bay Area, Miami, New York), and abroad in different parts of the world (e.g., Hong Kong, China, Cuba, Canada, Mexico). He also loved traveling, watching sports and movies, going out to eat, and having conversations while sharing life experiences and lessons learned. 

Rene preceded Margarita in death (October 26, 2006), whom he cared for in her later years. He is survived by his three sons, John, Daniel, and Michael, and his grandchildren, Joseph, Jacob, and Sarah. He is remembered as a strong, intelligent, dedicated, thoughtful, loving, and devoted husband, father, grandfather, son, uncle, and friend. He is eternally loved and remembered.