Julie Rose Ettesvold was born on April 8, 1959 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Kermit and Joan Ettesvold. A year later her family moved west to Port Hueneme, California, where Julie spent her formative years.  She attended Hueneme High School.

She graduated from nursing school at California State University Long Beach in 1980. She married Richard Wong in 1983 and raised two much-loved children, Melinda and Curtis Wong.

After graduating from nursing school, she worked as an R.N. at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center for several years, then became a hospital nurse for an internal medicine group, followed by several years as a Critical Care R.N. at Huntington Memorial Hospital.  She was as a nursing instructor at Citrus College in Glendora for the last 27 years.

Quick to laughter and a master storyteller, Julie had a knack for setting people at ease in otherwise stressful situations. She leaves a significant legacy in the hundreds of nurses she trained over nearly three decades. Her students have helped shape the modern culture of American healthcare in California and nationwide. A popular and memorable instructor, Julie was a master at combining infinite patience with a strict adherence to regulations and standards. She had the ability to determine her students' motivations and areas of challenge to provide the most enriching and impactful educational experience possible. Her expertise and talent will be long remembered as a model of truly purposeful teaching: not only to instruct, but to inspire, motivate, and instill passion in those she taught.