Phillip Lai-Pin Chow

A native of Tsingtao, China, Phillip was born August 24, 1922 into a large family of merchants to the late Tsao Dao Guang and Liu Ching Zhen. As a teenager, he was sent to high school in Japan to learn the Japanese language in preparation for conducting future trading with Japan. When Japan invaded China, Phillip returned to China to complete high school where he participated in swim and track. Afterwards, he attended a Catholic University in Beijing for only 6 months since the Japanese occupation expanded along the coast of China. He had to evacuate inland to avoid the occupation of Beijing. In 1942, he joined the air force under General Chiang Kai-shek and began flight training. As World War II expanded to involve many nations fighting against Japan, Phillip was sent to the US and India to further his pilot training. Upon completion of his fighter pilot training in August of 1944, Phillip returned to China and flew with the Flying Tigers. When Japan surrendered in 1945, the civil war broke out between the Kuomintang government and the Communists. Since Phillip flew with the Kuomintang government, he and his family had to escape to Taiwan to avoid persecution when China fell to the Communists. In Taiwan, he became a cargo pilot for Civil Air Transport. Later, when the Korean War broke out, he went to work with Air America to supply the US troops. In 1960, he was transferred to Bangkok, Thailand to fly supplies to the US troops during the Vietnam conflict. As the US involvement drew to a close, he immigrated with his family in 1968 to Falls Church, VA. At that time, Phillip began studying computer data processing in Washington DC, but became aware of the lucrative Chinese restaurant business. He moved with his family to Raleigh, NC and opened Hangchow, a Chinese restaurant. Eventually, he went on to open China Garden in North Hills and China Inn in North Ridge.

Phillip is survived by his wife of 73 years, Lily Chow; his daughter, Nancy Hsu, and husband, Peter Hsu, of Honolulu, Hawaii; his devoted caregiver daughter, Dorothy Chow, of Raleigh, NC; his son, Jackson Chow, and wife, Lisa Hudson, of Alpharetta, GA; his grandchildren, Benjamin Hsu, of Taipei, Taiwan; Jennifer Hsu, of Honolulu, Hawaii; Hudson Chow, of Alpharetta, GA; and Taylor Chow, of Atlanta, GA.