John Kai Chen, 87, restaurateur

John Kai Chen, whose life took him from Canton to New York, from the violin to welding, and ultimately to an esteemed leadership role in Chinatown, died Sunday, Oct. 2, after suffering a stroke.

Chen was 87 but still vital and engaged at the time of his death.

He held a strong, immigrant's belief in America as the land of opportunity, and he worked to help more recent arrivals from China make their way in this country.

"He was honest, elegant, loving, generous of spirit," said his daughter-in-law, Sandra Chen. "I guess he did achieve the American dream."

Chen became a prominent restaurateur in Philadelphia but cherished his roles as husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. An accomplished violinist who trained at a New York conservatory, he played the instrument all his life.

He was born in 1924 in Toison, China, a small village near what was then called Canton and is today Guangdong province.

He was the third of five brothers, sons of a father who traveled to the United States to find work, leaving the children with his wife, as was typical at the time. Chen's father returned to China to bring his eldest son to the United States, then returned again to escort his second and third sons here.

Chen was a boy of 10 when he boarded the USS President Jackson for a nearly four-month journey to the United States. The ship docked in New York nine days into the new year of 1935, in a country mired in the Great Depression.

Chen attended the Charles Nichols Public School in Mount Vernon, N.Y. After high school, with World War II raging, he tried to enlist in the U.S. armed services but was rejected because of a punctured eardrum, his family said. He went to trade school and studied welding, getting a job with the Curtiss-Wright aerospace firm in Buffalo.

He later worked in Camden and then at the Piasecki Aircraft Corp. in Philadelphia. During a bowling outing with friends, he met a young woman from Chinatown named Mabel Lee. They married in 1946 and had four children: Laurelee, Leslie Ann, Douglas, and Lynnette.

In the late 1950s, Chen helped his mother and two younger brothers emigrate from China.

While working as a welder, he took second and third jobs as a real estate agent and an interpreter for the U.S. Justice Department. He provided translations for newcomers from China and helped them get used to life in America.

He was always a phenomenal cook and dreamed of running his own business.

After an early experiment with a Chinese take-out restaurant, he opened the Fortune Cookie at 112 Chestnut St. in 1971. The restaurant became successful, known for its traditional Chinese cuisine and its welcoming environs - and for a particular attraction:

Patrons could call ahead and have the chef bake a huge fortune cookie, within which was enclosed a personal message. Some diners had gifts placed inside for special occasions. The restaurant closed upon Chen's retirement in 1984.

By then he was prominent in the Society Hill business community. In Chinatown, he served as president of key organizations including the On Leong Merchant Association, the Oak Tin Family Association, the Chinese Benevolent Association, and the Ning Yang Association.

In 2005, more than 70 years after he left China, Chen paid an emotional visit to his family home in Toison, which was little changed from the day he left.

He is survived by his wife, his four children and their spouses, five grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.

A viewing will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, at Holy Redeemer Church at Ninth and Vine Streets in Philadelphia. Viewing also will be 9 to 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7, followed by a Funeral Mass at the church.