Ping and Ruby Chow were prominent members of Seattle’s Chinese American community for many years. Edward Shui "Ping" Chow (1916-2011) was born in Guangzhou, China. Ping trained as a singer and became a Cantonese opera star. Ruby Chow (1920-2008) was born in Seattle and grew up in what was then Chinatown (now the International District). While traveling with his troupe, Ping met Ruby in New York and the couple married. They later moved to Seattle with their children, where the couple opened a successful restaurant called Ruby Chow's. The Chows were heavily involved in community and civic groups. Ping performed with visiting opera troupes to raise money for such organizations as the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team and the Wing Luke Museum, and both Ping and Ruby served terms as president of the Chong Wa chapter in Seattle, with Ruby being the first woman in the world to hold that office. In 1973, she also became the first Asian American to be elected to the King County Council, winning reelection twice and retiring in 1985.

This image shows the Chow family in their home, from left, Ping Chow with Brien, 3; Shelton, 14; Edward, 15; Cheryl, 8; and Ruby Chow with Mark, 1. Ping and Ruby’s children followed their parents into community service: Edward served in Vietnam and later worked for the Veteran’s Administration, Shelton worked as a schoolteacher, Cheryl served on the Seattle City Council and the Seattle School Board, Brien was involved in affirmative action work and is an advocate for Chinatown’s interests, and Mark served six terms as a judge on the King County District Court before retiring in 2023.

Caption information source: "Remembering Ping Chow," Northwest Asian Weekly, July 13, 2011, at http://nwasianweekly.com/2011/07/remembering-ping-chow
Caption information source: “Ruby Chow (1920-2008), by Frank Chesley, HistoryLink, retrieved from https://www.historylink.org/File/8063.