Susan Wu Rathbone (October 29, 1921 – November 22, 2019), also known as Wu Shih-san and "Auntie Wu", was a Chinese-born community leader in New York City. She was founder and head of the Chinese Immigrants Service and the Queens Chinese Women's Association, both based in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial ...

Early life

Wu Shih-san was born in 1921 in

Hefei Hefei is the Capital city, capital of Anhui, China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census. Its built-up (or ''metro'') area is made up of four u ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

, China, the daughter of Chung Liu and Jin Ban (Gung) Wu. She was a schoolteacher in Chungking as a young woman. She moved to the United States with her new husband in 1946, settling in Flushing, New York. She was believed to be the first "war bride" from China admitted to the United States after the passage of the War Brides Act in 1945.

Career

Rathbone began assisting fellow immigrants from China when she established "Auntie Wu's Hotline", an advice and information service, in the 1940s. She often hosted Chinese students in her New York home, and helped Chinese immigrants begin businesses in the city. In 1984 she was founder and head of the Chinese Immigrants Service, a mutual aid society, and the Queens Chinese Women's Association, both based in Flushing. One of her protegees in the leadership of the Queens Chinese Women's Association was Grace Meng, who became a Congresswoman. Rathbone also started a bilingual magazine, ''Women's Voice'', in 1993. In 1984, Rathbone earned a bachelor's degree from the

Queens College, City University of New York Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

. In 1987, she received the Susan B. Anthony Award from the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

. In a newspaper story in 2000 on local politics, she was called "Flushing's most influential Chinese activist". In 2001, she won a $5000 Emigrant Award from Emigrant Savings Bank. In 2003, she was honored by Queens borough president Helen Marshall as one of the borough's outstanding women. In 2007, the Center for the Women of New York honored Rathbone at their annual dinner.

Personal life and legacy

Wu Shih-san married American soldier Frank Harold Rathbone Jr. in 1945, in Shanghai. They had two sons, Frank and Edward. She died in 2019, aged 98, at her son's home in Michigan. Her grave is with her husband's, at

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery is an American military cemetery located in St. Louis County, Missouri, just on the banks of the Mississippi River. The cemetery was established after the American Civil War in an attempt to put together a fo ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

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