Annie Seid Chu, 97, passed away at Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, on May 5, 2024, after a short illness. She departed peacefully with loved ones by her side.
Annie was born in 1926 in Portland, Oregon, to Lim Choy Lum Seid and Fook Lee Seid, the third of five siblings. Her parents moved the family back to China when Annie was five, where her father died soon afterward. When she was 12, the Japanese began bombing China at the beginning of World War II. For years, Annie and her family lived through Japanese raids on their village, hiding on the hill behind their village, and at times moving temporarily to Macau and Hong Kong. When she was 19, a family friend was able to arrange a meeting for Annie with the U.S. Consul in Canton, who secured her passage back to the United States on a U.S. warship. During the 18-day journey, she found that an acquaintance, Ruth Yue, was also on the ship, and the two became lifelong friends. Annie’s older brother Bing helped her navigate immigration and took her in to live with him. For the rest of her life, she would remember with deep gratitude and love how he took care of her and her sisters.
Later, Annie moved to Seattle to attend a high school that taught English as a second language. In Seattle, Annie continued her education while working as an au pair. A year later she traveled to Madison, Arkansas, to help her older sister Lily, who was expecting her first child. It was there she met Don Quong Chu. He would later become her husband, but Annie wanted to finish high school before marriage. She graduated from Forrest City High School, then married Don in 1951.
Annie and Don owned a grocery store in Madison for many years, where they had four children and Annie tended a large Chinese vegetable and rose garden. They later moved to Forrest City, Arkansas, where Don repaired clocks and watches at Standard Jewelers. They supported all four children through college, though neither of them had formal education beyond high school. After their children were grown, they were able to travel extensively in the U.S. and to Europe, Australia, Asia, and the South Pacific. In 2008 they moved to Germantown, Tennessee, to live with their daughter and son-in-law, Martha and Marvin Shapiro. She loved being near her sisters Lily and Jane and became a devoted member of First Chinese Baptist Church. After working hard her entire life, Annie enjoyed her final years, lovingly cared for by her daughter and son-in-law. She loved cooking and eating delicious meals, winning at mahjong, and watching her grandchildren grow and have four children of their own, with one more on the way.
Annie was preceded in death by her husband; her brother, Bing Seid; and sisters, June Seid, Jane Wong, and Lily Chu.
She is survived by her four children, Donna Chu (Mark Crawford), Martha Shapiro (Marvin), Thomas Chu, and Timothy Chu (Kim); eight grandchildren, Lane and Alison Crawford, Leigh and Drew Shapiro, Rachel and Michelle Chu, and Cameron and Chandler Chu; four great-grandchildren, Elliot and Evan Ferguson, and Jeanne and Grace Darby; and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to First Chinese Baptist Church, 7555 Macon Road, Cordova, TN 38018.
A private graveside service will be held Saturday at the Forrest Park Cemetery in Forrest City. Stevens Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. You may log on to stevensfuneralhome.net for the online registry.
