Jerry Chow

Jerry York Pang Chow of the Bronx, NY unexpectedly passed away on September 5, 2024.  He is survived by his wife of 44 years Jean Hom Chow; his daughter, Jennifer Lee and husband Geoffrey Lee of Brookline, MA and their two children Benjamin and Madeline; his son Jeffrey Chow of the Bronx, NY; and his sister Chow Suet Wah of Hong Kong along with two nephews and two nieces and their respective families.   

Jerry was born March 13, 1952 in Kaiping County in the Guangdong Provence in China to his mother Chow Chun Mui and father Chow Hoi Ming.  When he was a young child, his family was forced to vacate Mainland China after the Communist Party took over the country.  Jerry and his parents left for Hong Kong, where he lived many of his formative childhood years attending school, playing ping pong, and serving as captain of his high school soccer team.

Jerry relocated to the United States to attend college.  He initially spent a year at Michigan State University, before transferring to Northeastern University in Boston, where he studied pharmacy.  While a student, he worked as a waiter at local Chinese restaurants not only to earn a living, but also to send money back to his mother still in Hong Kong.  After graduating from Northeastern University, Jerry traveled to Alaska to work in retail pharmacy within the state’s Fred Myers chain. 

In 1980, Jerry began what would become a 43 year career at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), a cancer treatment and research institution in New York City.  Jerry held multiple positions, starting as one of the original pharmacists to work the overnight shift, worked within the OPD and Bone Marrow Teams, and eventually became Pharmacist Supervisor and Manager; a role he would hold until he retired in 2023.  A commendably hard worker during much of this time at MSKCC, it was a passion for Jerry to think about how medicine played a role in treating and curing people who needed it. 

In 1982, Jerry and Jean welcomed their daughter Jennifer, and three years later in 1985, their son Jeffrey, and settled in the Bronx, NY as their place of residence, where he lived up until the time of his passing.  He worked tirelessly to provide for his family and taught his children the value of hard work and the importance of family.  Jerry’s mother ultimately immigrated herself to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, NY, and he and the kids would spend many weekends driving from the Bronx to visit her.  Outside of work, Jerry enjoyed traveling, learning about the world, watching sports, cooking, and was particularly fond of the 1980’s Boston Celtics.  He was delighted when his grandchildren were born; Benjamin in 2013 and Madeline in 2016, and enjoyed spending time with them.

Jerry will be greatly missed and forever loved.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center at giving.mskcc.org.