Edmundo Chow

Edmundo Chow Sr. was born in the city of Kaiping, Guangdong province, CHINA.

Date of Birth: May 14, 1929

Date of Death: June 6, 2013

I am going to share with you a little history of this brave young and very reserved man, my Father, Edmundo Chow.

It all started on May 14, 1929, during which time, China was under the Communist regime. His parents were so worried for him. His Mum Huang Qiu Yin 黄秋銀 and his father Zhou Xi Chao 周錫超 helped him to escape out of China at the age of 23 in order to secure a new horizon for his life. Like any parent, they only wanted the best for him.

He eventually landed in the country of Nicaragua, Central America, on the Atlantic Coast of Las Minas “La Luz” (The Light). At first, he lived in La Luz under the watchful eyes of the gentleman he used to call Grandpa (Don Kong Chon).

My father’s Chinese name was Chau Check-Lam, until he changed it to Edmundo Chow, which was very well known by everyone in the mines as Don Mundo or Mundito.

While in La Luz, he was able to find a job as a worker with Jose Tam Wong, through the persistence of his Grandpa, Don Kong Chon. He learned the business and kept up with his Spanish so much so that he became a responsible man trying to make a living. Mr. Tam-Wong, the "Big Kahuna", was a big distributor for the three mines in the area. La Luz, Rosita & Bonanza

My Father was very active and athletic, such that he played basketball and volleyball and enjoyed swimming. He had a group of friends from La Colonia China, who had formed their own basketball team named ROJO (Red). It was a perfect way to show patriotism to their Motherland RED CHINA.

Among his basketball friends were Francisco Lam, Luis Chow, and others.

My Father worked very hard and saved his money in order to open up his own business in 1957. He opened a small store where he used to sale groceries during the day to the local people and at night, he would open his 2nd business a bar which he called Cantina/Salon Monte. I guess this quiet and reserved man was a party animal after all.

My mother, who was a native from Mina Bonanza, had moved to Rosita. She lived right in front of my father's store/bar (Cantina/Salon Monte).

She was a young petite woman who was aspiring to become a seamstress, by actually crocheting pillowcases which she sold afterwards.

Later on, she became an assistant to a nurse at the local Hospital. My father wanted to talk to her but did not know how. One way of getting to know her was done by purchasing her finished pillowcases. Then he used to walk her to and from the hospital where she worked.

He asked her out, and the rest was a beautiful love story.

(Now you tell me how many pillowcases can a man buy from a young, pretty female?)

He thought he was slick. He thought he had swag.

According to my mum, he never asked her to marry him. Instead, he was pretty brave in going directly to her parents and telling them that he wanted to marry their daughter although my mum did not know about it. She got very upset with him that she did not speak to him for a while after that.

My mother said it was the Chinese tradition to ask the parents for permission to marry their daughter back in those days. Her mum was not happy about it but her dad had no problem dealing with it. In fact, her dad said that he was a very good, young man.

My Father was seen as the sincere and good person that he is.

They fell in love and got married. Many people were jealous of their marriage including her family. She was too young for him while he was a little older.

It caused some conflict between the man she loved and the family she adored. They became husband and wife on April 10th 1960, in Rosita, and celebrated their wedding at the Chinese Club of Rosita.

Their first child was a girl who passed away at an early age. Then they had a baby boy named after him Edmundo S. Chow, Jr. and a year later they had another child whom they named

Noel F. Chow. My mother was deeply devoted and loyal to my father until his dying day. For 53 years, she cared for him, cooked & cleaned for him.

Their happiness had become so bright once again with the birth of their first grandchild Gabriella C. Chow in 1999. I saw how happy they were, especially my Father. He adored his little girl. (he used to call her Gabrielita mi niña) Years later, in December 2011, my brother gave him a second grandchild, this time a baby boy named Nathan D. Chow, who shall carry the Chow last name in the future. Unfortunately, due to his illness, my father only enjoyed Nathan for short time but every time Scarlett my sister in-law placed his grandchild next to him, his face lit up. He loved this kid very much. He knew it was his blood. His children and grandchildren brought him indescribable joy.

During his final moments, my mum held him, caressed him, and held his hand tight and he was squeezing her hand as well. He kept staring at her eyes and suddenly, he gradually stopped squeezing her hand. He was leaving us but he seemed very much at peace. He gave us his last look and closed his eyes. At that moment I lost it, it was so hard for me. I felt a tremendous pain in my heart that will remain for a long time.

My father is the greatest man I have ever known.

One of my most memorable moments with him was when he used to put me on his lap and drive around town. Being in front of the wheel was exciting and he was my protection, my hero, the person I will always look up to. He taught me how to ride a bicycle, how to shoot my first basketball and he taught me how to swim.

We used to go swimming at El Zopilote, Bana Cruz with our friends and our good neighbors.

The Lam’s The Chow’s and many others; Those were the best time growing up in our beautiful town Rosita

He used to talk to me about his family back home in Hong Kong and Kaiping. He always mentioned his dear brother in the US (Los Angeles, CA) and spoke very highly about them. He was so proud of his family but it was difficult for him to go and visit them. When he lost his parents, he cried and he was so sad. When he lost his good friend Don Arturo Chang, he was also very devastated.

He became very happy when my brother got married to Scarlett in Managua. He dearly loved Scarlett so much. Many times he told us that Scarlett was a very good person and an excellent woman for his son. When we used to drive to LA, he used to say that Scarlett was also such a good cook.

Unfortunately, when he attended Don Manuel Lam's 50th anniversary, he was already diagnosed with dementia and did not know much of what was going on. Years later, he developed Alzheimer's disease that he battled for many years. When Don Manuel Lam passed in 2012, his Alzheimer's disease has already fully developed that he could not attend the funeral. I told him that Don Manuel Lam had passed away. He understood as he kept on repeating the words "did he die?" He was mostly quiet.

(a note from your Son Sergio)The memories that my dad left me are unforgettable. I am just going to mention a few of them. Most of our friends who lived in the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, specifically Mina Rosita, knew that my dad loved the game of mahjong at the Chinese club association. The days when he would meet his friends to play mahjong were days of good Chinese food that I was looking forward to lunch time or dinner time because those meals were so delicious. (Some of you can relate to that)

Another time that sticks in my memory is the baseball season at the Atlantic Coast in Nicaragua. My dad loved baseball and he used to take me/us to the ball games. Even when there was no game at the local stadium but a game was being broadcasted on the radio by a very popular sport commentator by the name of Sucre Frech, he would follow the game until it was over.

I also remember when my dad came back from visiting relatives in China./Hong Kong He brought us all kinds of goodies, but one specific item that I liked the most was a cassette player.

I was very young but that cassette player seemed like a boom box for me. There was music by Elton John in one cassette that made me happy as well as reggae, socca calypso and palo de mayo. I loved it.

Dad I love you, I will never forget every moment we spent together, every lesson you taught me about being kind. Thank you dad so very much. I love you and I will always miss you.

Dad, we will miss you and we will always love you! Your legacy will always live in our hearts and in our minds forever.

Survived by his wife:

Benita Chow

Sons; Edmundo S. Chow, & Noel F. Chow

Grandkids: Gabriella C. Chow & Nathan D. Chow

Daughter in-law Scarlett Chow

(Story by Noel Chow)