Johnny Chow

Thursday, January 20, 2022 at age 90. He lived his life pursuing his professional and personal

passions with determination, generosity, and humor. He was a role model for his 8 children and

12 grandchildren, and spent his final days making and bringing snacks to his wife Joyce,

ordering too much food for visiting grandchildren, filling red envelopes in preparation for

Chinese New Year, and as often as possible, in the casino - winning big on his final visit a week

before his death.

Born in Shanghai, China on October 8, 1931 he was the youngest and last survivor of Su Lan

Ying and Qiu Ke Ming’s four children. As a teenager, he fled China before the imminent

Communist Revolution to seek opportunities in the United States. He served in the United

States Merchant Marines and Army, and was a veteran of the Korean Conflict. As a benefit of

the GI Bill, Johnny earned his BS in Civil Engineering from Indiana Technical College in Fort

Wayne, Indiana and there he met the love of his life, Joyce Mary (nee Hoo), his wife of 63 years.

Johnny’s greatest joy was spending time with Joyce surrounded by their children, their children’s

spouses and grandchildren.

In 1960, Johnny joined J. Rich Steers, Inc., a marine/heavy construction firm in NYC, where he

thrived for 24 years, ultimately becoming Assistant Vice President, Chief Estimator/Sponsor

Engineer. He joined Perini Corporation in 1985 as Chief Estimator and helped start its

Metropolitan New York Division, becoming a Vice President in 1988, and retiring in 1993.

Throughout his 33-year Civil Engineering career, Johnny significantly contributed to many major

construction projects in the NY Metropolitan Area and the East Coast, including, The Verrazano

Narrows Bridge Abutments, LaGuardia Airport Runway Extensions, WMATA - Federal Center

Station, Sections A6a and A9a, MARTA - West End, Peachtree Center and Georgia State

Stations, I-295 Bridges over Crosswicks Creek, and the 8th Avenue subway rehabilitation.

In 1975, Johnny was elected to The Moles, the most prestigious fraternal organization of heavy

civil and underground construction industry, where he served on the Education and Election

Committees. Proud of his 25 and 40 year awards, he remained active to his last day. He also

volunteered at the Regional Alliance for Small Contractors and was an early supporter of

minority and women owned construction companies.

Johnny and Joyce (a retired teacher) have always been committed to Education so established

college funds for each of their 12 grandchildren. He served as Chairman of the Board for the

Huaxia Chinese School Staten Island and taught classes on China at the Staten Island UFT

Learning Center. As a retiree, he enjoyed sharing his love of learning and financial knowledge

with fellow students attending College of Staten Island classes.

Johnny was fond of peanuts, lobster rolls, Chinatown in any city he visited, McDonald’s

collectible toys, playing Santa Claus, bright colored shirts, mixing patterns, and spreadsheets.

He especially enjoyed his visits to China with each of his 12 grandchildren, the annual family

summer vacation in Narragansett, Rhode Island and regaling his grandchildren with stories

about his heavy construction projects. He was an avid chef and loved throwing magnificent feasts for family and friends, retired teachers, and construction site colleagues. He even had a

short stint as Civil Engineer by day/restaurateur by night.

Obsessed with the S&P 500, he would get the shakes if he did not get his daily dose of financial

news for his daily performance monitoring of each grandchild’s college fund.

Flowers brought him joy. He loved giant Dahlias, orchids, and planting his annual flowers. He

also had a compulsive habit of buying Joyce bouquets of flowers just because the day ended in

a “y”.

Johnny is survived by his wife , Joyce, their eight children and twelve grandchildren: Michael

(Pearl) and their children John David, Michelle and Garrett, Lisa (Tom) and their children Jaime

and Bobby, Laurie, Lawrence (Ralph), John (Grace) and their children Justin, Alexis and Jade,

Stephen (Karen) and their children Christopher and Cayden, Stephanie (Mike) and their children

Zachary and Natalie, and Christopher.

Johnny, whose Chinese name is Rui De meaning “Lucky Virtuous One”, lived up to his

name and will be remembered for his compassion, thoughtfulness, generosity, and

playfulness.

Visitation hours at Casey McCallan Funeral Home, 30 Nelson Ave, Staten Island from 4-8 pm

Tuesday, February 1st. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, February 2nd beginning at

11:00 am, followed by burial at Moravian Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Jimmy Fund or the American Cancer Society.