Ruby Chow

Ruby Chow (June 6, 1920 – June 4, 2008; simplified Chinese: 周马双金; traditional Chinese: 周馬雙金; pinyin: Zhōu Mǎ Shuāngjīn; Jyutping: Chow1 Ma5 Seung1 Gam1) was a Chinese American restaurateur and politician in Seattle, Washington.

Biography

Born as Ma Seung Gum in Seattle, she married twice. Her first marriage produced two sons. She and her second husband, Edward Shui "Ping" Chow (November 5, 1916 - June 29, 2011), opened Ruby Chow's restaurant in 1948 at 1122 Jefferson Street (at the corner of Broadway & Jefferson), the first Chinese restaurant outside of Seattle's Chinatown, where her staff subsequently included Bruce Lee. She served three terms as a King County councilwoman. She was the first Asian American elected to King County Council.^[1]

The county council named Ruby Chow Park, at the corner of S. Albro Place and 13th Avenue S. (47°32′47″N 122°18′54″W / 47.546381°N 122.315126°W), after Chow in 1985.^[2][3]

Death

Ruby Chow died in 2008, two days before her 88th birthday, from heart failure in her native Seattle, and was survived by her five children and her husband, Ping. Her daughter, Cheryl Chow, served as a member of the Seattle City Council from 1990 to 1997.^[4][5][6][7]

References

1. Chesley, Frank (2007-01-18). "Chow, Ruby (1920-2008)". HistoryLink. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
2. Council expresses condolences on the passing of former King County Councilmember Ruby Chow, kingcounty.gov; accessed October 19, 2014.
3. Eskenazi, Stuart (2008-06-05). "Ruby Chow, first Asian American on King County Council, dead at 87". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
4. "Cheryl Chow comes out while dying of brain cancer". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
5. Obituary, seattle.gov; accessed October 19, 2014.
6. Lau, Betty (2008-06-14). "A remembrance of Ruby Chow’s extraordinary life". Northwest Asian Weekly. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
7. Wong, Brad (2008-06-11). "Hundreds pay final respects to Ruby Chow". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-07-16.