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Tina Co: July 13, 1965 – March 23, 2018
Tina Co, co-owner of China Ruby restaurant on 9 Mile Road in Ferndale, whose welcoming smile and sweet disposition greeted customers over a span of about three decades, died Friday at Ford Hospital in Detroit after a tenacious battle with cancer. She was 52.
"I'm just the luckiest guy in the place," sportswriter Mike O'Hara, who was Co's life partner for 22 years, tells Deadline Detroit. "What she ever saw in me, I have absolutely no idea. But it worked. It wasn't 50-50 . it was 100-100."
"When she got sick, she never complained. She said 'thanks for taking care of me. When I get well, I'll take care of you.'"
Born in Qui Nhon, Vietnam as Bich Nguyet Co, she moved to the U.S. with her large family in 1979 and changed her name to Tina. She later became a U.S. citizen, according to an obituary at the site of the A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Home in Troy.
The family -- father Cam, mother Mui and seven sisters and two brothers -- first settled in Ypsilanti before migrating to Houston. She later returned to Metro Detroit.
As a teenager, she struggled learning English, and worked briefly at Kmart where she was asked to announce the Blue Light Specials, according to the obituary. Her delivery was so sincere that it caught the attention of shoppers, causing sales to rise.
Co, who lived in northwest Detroit, eventually opened China Ruby with business partner and cook Luu Cuong long before Ferndale became a popular entertainment district. Co worked the front of the restaurant and handled the business end while Cuong cooked.
Tina Co
O'Hara said Co liked the hijinks of camaraderie with customers who became friends and were known by an assortment of nicknames.
For example: “Doctor Larry” was a psychologist who liked to discuss issues other than psychology -- and run errands for Tina. Kuriakose, a native of India, became known as “James Bond” for no real reason. And “Chinese Bob” got his name to distinguish him from “American Bob.”
And many others were greeted by their regular order: “Beef Lo Mein,” “Garlic Chicken” or “General Tso’s Chicken.”
Co liked playing blackjack at Detroit’s casinos for high and low stakes, and she was a fan of high-voltage rock and roll. On July 13, for her 53rd birthday, she planned to see Def Leppard at Comerica Park.
"Her saying was 'enjoy life,' and she enjoyed life," O'Hara says.
Earlier this year, as she became too weak to work full time, she sold the restaurant. It's expected to turn into a Middle Eastern restaurant.
She is survived by everyone in her immediate family except her mother, Mui Co, who passed away March 15 in Houston
The funeral is Tuesday at 11 a.m. at A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Home, 2600 Crooks Rd. in Troy.
