Ruth Mulan Chu Chao

CHAO--Ruth Mulan Chu 77, wife, mother, Asian scholar, and philanthropist passed away on Thursday, August 2, 2007 at New York Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital after a seven year battle with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Precious wife of Dr. James S.C. Chao, Chairman of the Foremost Group of New York, cherished mother of United States Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, Jeannette, May, Christine, Grace, and Angela Chao; treasured grandmother of Ben, Tyler, Alexia, Penelope, Miranda Mei and Jessica Ruth; and beloved mother-in-law of Republican Leader in the United Senate Mitch McConnell, Jeffrey Hwang, Jos Shaver and Gordon Hartogensis. A native of Anhui, China, she came to the United States as a young mother with three children in 1961, to join her husband who had arrived three years earlier. At the age of 51, she decided to return to school and earn a Master's degree in Asian literature and history from St. John's University. She has also established several foundations that provide scores of scholarships annually in her native land of China. A devout Christian and a lifelong church and community volunteer, she is deeply mourned by friends and family.