He loved finding ways to make the everyday moments of life fun and special. Mark was charismatic, charming, and always added flair to whatever he pursued. Almost overnight, the financially troubled restaurant blossomed into a success-the first of many to come. He started working at Chicago's Mongolian House Chinese restaurant, and just five months later, he secured a loan to purchase the restaurant in his own name. In 1972, Mark arrived in Chicago with $50 in his pocket. He also held a third-degree black belt in Taekwondo. As an adult, he would become a Guinness World Record holder for fastest noodle-making several times over. Mark dropped out of school at the age of 9 to work at a noodle restaurant in exchange for food and shelter, and while there, he learned how to make noodles by hand. He was raised primarily by his father, who, when out of work, often had no choice but to send Mark to an orphanage until he could provide again. He was born into poverty and his mother died when he was 5. Mark overcame great challenges in his lifetime. He also had an older sister and a younger sister. His father, a traveling stone mason, was from the Shandong Province of Northern China, his mother was Korean. Mark was a Chinese national born in Seoul, Korea on July 2, 1945. He was the founder of the Mark Pi’s restaurant chain and Sunrise Foods, an Asian food manufacturer, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, which is now run by his eldest son, Mark Pi, Jr. Passionate, determined, fearless, and relentless in the pursuit of his dreams and goals, he was also personable, hospitable, and generous. With his wife of 55 years, Lily, at his side, he lived his life to the fullest-the only way he liked and knew how to live-to the very end. Mark Pi (Shu-Ho Bi), died on June 16, 2022, just shy of his 77th birthday at his home in Laguna Woods, California.
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