Kuan Chih Chao

June 28, 1926 - April 13, 2021

Kuan Chih Chao, age 94, passed away peacefully on the morning of April 13 at South Cove Manor

at Quincy Point. He was beloved by his family and friends and will always be remembered for his

work ethic, good humor, quick wit, and unabiding kindness to family, friends, and strangers alike.

Kuan Chih was born in a farming village in Luohe in China’s Henan province. At fifteen, amid the

chaos of the Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War, he fled his home, leaving on foot with only

the shirt on his back and the warm bread his mother had baked for the journey ahead. He would

never see his parents again. He joined a relative who was an officer in the Nationalist army and

became a skilled chef, eventually fleeing to Taiwan. There, he met his wife, and they built a family

and community together. He migrated to the United States in search of a better life for his children.

He arrived alone at first, not speaking any English and working long hours in a restaurant, and

sponsored his wife and children to join him in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His resiliency and

courage set a high bar, and his hard work enabled opportunities in education, career, and a rich life

for the generations that follow him.

He worked and was a partner in several Chinese restaurants across metropolitan Boston, including

Chi Lin in Belmont, Massachusetts, which he operated with his family until his retirement. Kuan Chih

enjoyed traveling and brought family back to China and Taiwan to understand their roots and

heritage and feel their connection to the past. Every day was an opportunity to spend time with

friends and neighbors playing mahjong, sharing in good food and crates of beer late into the night,

and being grateful for everything that came to him.

Kuan Chih gave all of himself to bring happiness and joy to those around him. His greatest legacy is

his large, loving family and the strong bonds he helped them forge. He was a devoted husband to

his late wife Tao May Chao. He was a loving father to George Chao, Judy Wong, John Chao, and

Lily Lee. A caring father-in-law to their respective spouses Irene Chao, Benedict Wong, Fung

Lee-Chao, and the late Kai Lee. He was a proud grandfather to Melissa Wong, Justina Wong, Tiffany

Chao, Jacqueline Ryan, Corissa Chao, Craig Lee, Chloe Lee, Jaime Chao, Justin Chao, Nicholas

Chao, and Eric Chao. He cherished the many spouses and partners who have become a part of the

Chao family. And he was a proud great-grandfather to Catherine Creehan, Finn Creehan, and

Josephine Ryan, whose unbridled joy reminds the entire family that their Tai Gong’s spirit endures.