Ping Tom (April 15, 1935 – July 7, 1995) (Chinese: 譚繼平; pinyin: Tán Jìpíng) was an American businessman and civic leader in Chicago.

Lillian had six children: Priscilla, Helene, Eunice, Mary, Tom (Chung) and Ping.

Tom won the Parker scholarship over his best friend, Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., who went on to become the first African-American astronaut.

Second, Parker's diversity taught him to develop "mutual respect and caring for those of a different race, ethnicity and religion."

He was one of the thirteen original founders of the Asian American Coalition of Chicago, an organization that annually brings together diverse Asian communities, including Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Cambodian, among others.

Furthermore, some say that because he was a second-generation native English speaker, he had an easier time working with mainstream (non-Asian) organizations and even politicians.

Senators (Paul Simon (politician), Carol Moseley-Braun), Illinois governors (James R. Thompson, Jim Edgar), and Chicago mayors (the late Harold Washington and Richard M. Daley).

[2] Ping Tom married Valerie Ching (b. September 15, 1934) of Honolulu, Hawaii on October 11, 1958.