Loretta Chow

Loretta Lee Chow, age 83, of Chinatown, New York City, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

Loretta’s grandparents, both maternal and fraternal, immigrated from China in search of the American dream. Thus, Loretta was born at home on 33-37 Mott Street in Chinatown, New York, the daughter of Foo S. Lee and Helen Lee (Ng).

She was a graduate of Washington Irving High School in Manhattan, an all-girls school in NYC with the Class of 1955.

Loretta’s first job as a young woman was with Western Union, but in an effort to contribute to the best life possible for her family, the bulk of her career, 40 years in all, was spent as a manager and legal secretary for an immigration law firm Gim & Wong PC. in Chinatown, New York City. She was more like a Paralegal and everyone in Chinatown and even Flushing's Chinatown knew  "Chow-Tai", which means Mrs. Chow.

Growing up in Chinatown, Loretta lived in an apartment with her parents and 3 siblings until marriage. Her grandparents and many uncles, aunts and cousins also lived in the same building, which created a haven for a happy and close-knit family. Loretta loved Chinatown so much that she chose to remain there for her entire life.

Loretta met the love of her life Joseph Chow “Joe” at a social gathering in Chinatown. It did not take long for mutual love to grow followed soon after by a desire for marriage. They exchanged their wedding promises to each other before God, family and friends on Saturday, June 2, 1956 at the True Light Lutheran Church in Chinatown, NYC, where Loretta had always been a member. Following the wedding ceremony and reception, they honeymooned in sunny Miami Beach, Florida, staying at the beautiful Versailles Hotel and enjoying a romantic week together frolicking on the beach, water-skiing and taking moonlight strolls. Sadly, Joe passed away in 2005, leaving Loretta precious memories of a playful, fun-loving, devoted, sometimes sweet and silly, marriage of 49 years in which they would admit to a few small arguments, but mostly because Joe was a rebel and Loretta was a goodie-two-shoes.

Although her children were born in America like her, she instilled in them the importance of understanding and appreciating their Chinese heritage, by attending Chinese school and celebrating the Lunar New Year, among other traditions.

Loretta was the Matriarch of her family and spending quality time with them and her friends was really important to her. She loved traveling with them to new destinations both near and afar. Cruises were a favorite of hers, where she visited places like the Caribbean Islands, Saint Martin, the U.K, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Russia, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Greece, Malta, and Mexico. On-land trips included China, Singapore, and numerous U.S. States and she equally enjoyed more local destinations like escaping the hustle and bustle of the city by spending summers as a child with her parents and siblings in a rented summer home at the Jersey Shore in Bradley Beach. These Jersey Shore vacations became a life-long tradition and when Loretta’s daughter Caryn was born, Loretta’s parents decided to purchase their own Bradley Beach summer home in celebration of the birth of their first grandchild.

Loretta enjoyed so many of the wonderful things that life had to offer. She loved playing Mah-Jong with her friends and would even sometimes play with her children, if they begged her to. She took regular trips to the casinos where playing the slots was her game of choice. She always looked forward to a good massage, hanging out with her siblings and listening to the music of Frank Sinatra in her younger years and later, Freddy Mercury and Queen. Many quiet summer evenings were spent at home watching her beloved New York Yankees and, in season, watching figure skating competitions.

Loretta enjoyed cooking and everyone loved her famous lasagna, spaghetti sauce, macaroni salad, and Chinese shrimp cakes, as well as everyone’s favorite - her “Mah-Jong” jello tray.  Loretta was also extremely talented at arts and crafts and bestowed upon many, ribbon origami and a good luck ball, which she hand-made from dollar bills or Chinese red envelopes.  She even held classes to teach family and friends, how to make them!

Loretta’s heart overflowed with gratitude for the abundance of blessings in her life. This feeling of blessing inspired her to give back to bless others, contributing to charities like the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) and donating to the Chinatown Las Vegas Reunions, where she would also make her ribbon origami.

Loretta loved living life to its fullest with her family by her side. Her generosity, humor, wit, and fun-loving nature shined through in spades. On one hand Loretta was a strong, independent and tough woman, yet she equally displayed so much empathy, always rooting for the underdog.  Her maternal instincts led her to embrace her children’s friends like her own, with many of those friends warmly calling Loretta “Mom”.

There are so many words that could be used to describe what Loretta was like - fun loving, witty, sociable, outgoing, smart and proud, independent, loud and strong, yet sensitive, dependable, easygoing, selfless, caring, and generous. She touched the hearts of so many, and was truly loved by everyone. There could never be another like Loretta, and she will be dearly missed by her adoring family and friends and will always hold a forever place in their hearts.

Loretta was the beloved wife of Joseph “Joe”, blessed in marriage for 49 years until his passing in 2005. She was the most loving mother of Caryn Chow of New York City, Russell Chow and his wife Roberta of Brooklyn, NY, and Sheryl Chin and her husband Thomas of Wayne, NJ; cherished grandmother of: Brandon Chow and his wife Cici Cao, and Victoria Chow; dear sister of the late Frederick Lee (2019) and his wife Kay, Gloria Yee and her husband John, and Donald Lee and his wife Shirley; and dear aunt of numerous nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews.  

At Loretta’s family’s request, please visit https://everloved.com/life-of/loretta-chow/memories/ to leave a condolence or make a contribution in Loretta’s memory to her church - True Light Lutheran Church.