C. Keith Riew

The entire Riew family is greatly saddened by the passing of Dr. Changkiu Keith Riew, (류창규), who succumbed to COVID-19 and went to his home in Heaven on April 9, 2020 in Teaneck, NJ at the age of 91. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and was beloved by his entire family. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Hyunsoo Kim Riew, 3 children, Claire, Elisa, Dan, and their spouses, 9 grandchildren, Katie, Bryan, Daniel, Lauren, Matthew, Maria, Bradley, Grant, Julia and 7 great grandchildren, Sebastian, Dylan, Alexis, Bristol, Elise, Jared and Madeleine. He is also survived by his uncle and close friend, John Riew, who is the same age and who was like a brother to him, having shared a room with him throughout their childhood. He is preceded in death by 5 of his 6 siblings, 4 sisters — Kyungsook, Ihnsook, Jungkiu, Youngok, and 1 brother— the Reverend Yongkiu Riew. His only remaining sister Okkiu currently lives in South Korea.

A celebration of his life will be held at a future date, yet to be determined.

Dr. Riew was born May 25, 1928 in Seoul, South Korea to Chanhee and Yung Joon Lee Riew. He attended Kyunggi High School and Seoul National University, in Seoul, Korea, majoring in Chemistry. His 20s were a very difficult time for him. When he was 21, his father suddenly passed away, leaving him the sole breadwinner for his mother and 6 siblings while also attending college. Nearly destitute, with only 1 shirt to wear, he would leave home before dawn to work, attend college and work after school and not return home until late evening. His mother would then wash and iron dry his shirt for the next day. The following year, the Korean war broke out. He served in the South Korean army and was captured by the North Koreans but managed to escape by feigning illness. In the middle of the war, on November 18, 1951, he married Hyunsoo Kim Riew (김현수), his friend since 4th grade in Elementary school. She attended Ewha High School and MyongJi College. She was from a wealthy family who had objected to their union but finally relented during a war that equalized classes. Sadly, they lost their first child, a daughter, to malnutrition during the war. Decades later, they would still talk about their loss.

After the war, he taught Chemistry at Kyunggi High School and also published the first Korean-English dictionary. In 1962, Dr. Riew, 34 years old, immigrated to the US to study Chemistry at Wayne State University in Detroit. Knowing that his wife and three young children, whom he had left in Korea, were dependent on him, he worked hard and managed to ultimately complete his graduate studies at the top of his class. After obtaining a PhD in Organic Chemistry in 1966, his wife and three children, whom he had not seen in 4 years, joined him and all subsequently became US citizens. He then worked for B.F.Goodrich, rising to the level of Senior Researcher and Manager of R&D in Breckville, OH. He was awarded numerous patents, including those on toughened plastics, widely used in today’s products. He also published numerous books, papers and chaired symposia where leading authorities in the field were guest speakers. After retirement from B.F. Goodrich, prior to leaving Ohio, He was an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the University of Akron and consultant to several Korean companies. He was a man of many talents and had the reputation of being able to fix or do anything he put his mind to. To reside near his son Dan and his wife, Mary, Dr. & Mrs. C. Keith Riew moved to St. Louis, MO, in 2007, spending the winter months in Naples, Florida in a home adjacent to daughter Elisa and her husband, Yong. They then moved permanently to Teaneck, NJ to a retirement community in 2018, until his passing, touching and enriching many lives along the way.

He was an active member and an Elder of the church wherever he lived; as well as a Bible Scholar and beloved and respected teacher of many. In lieu of flowers, his wife requests that donations be made to their local church: Light of the World Community Church (세상의 빛교회), 333 Grand Avenue, Palisades Park, NJ 07650.

See private family video here, put together by his granddaughter Julia Riew: https://youtu.be/kEAK3ZYNNUU