Ping Tom
| Ping Tom 譚繼平 |
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|---|---|
Ping Tom
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| Born |
April 15, 1935 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | July 7, 1995 (aged 60) Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Valerie Tom |
Ping Tom (April 15, 1935 – July 7, 1995) (Chinese: 譚繼平; pinyin: Tān Jìpíng) was an American businessman and civic leader in Chicago. He was also the uncle of American actress Lauren Tom.
Mr. Tom was the youngest of eight children. His mother, Lillian Goo, married Tom Y. Chan after her sister, Mary Goo, Tom Y. Chan's first wife, died from influenza. Mary Goo had two children: Florence and Grace. Lillian had six children: Priscilla, Helene, Eunice, Mary, Tom (Chung) and Ping.
Mr. Tom attended Haines School in Chinatown. He then won a high-school scholarship to Francis W. Parker School in Chicago. Mr. Tom won the Parker scholarship over his best friend, Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., who went on to become the first African-American astronaut. Mr. Tom graduated from Parker in 1952. Both of his sons, Darryl (Class of 1988) and Curtis (Class of 1990), as well as Trace Lawrence (Class of 1977), Mr. Lawrence's son, also attended Francis W. Parker School.
In an article Mr. Tom wrote for the Parker Weekly in 1988, he stated that his experience at Parker shaped and influenced his life in two ways. First, Parker's atmosphere of encouragement helped him build self-confidence. Second, Parker's diversity taught him to develop "mutual respect and caring for those of a different race, ethnicity and religion." In fact, he noted that he had not known a Jewish person until he attended Parker.
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