She grew up in Seoul, South Korea. During the war, she met US Army Master Sergeant, Vernon A. Ginzel. They married on June 13, 1957. Two years later, their daughter, Linda Elaine, was born in Seoul. Vernon adopted both Myung’s daughters Helen (nee Hyo Soon) and Myung Hee.
Myung Ja became a naturalized citizen in 1962; her life-long passion was to be “American.”
She retired from Ampex Corporation which invented the first commercial reel-to-reel audio and video tape recorders. She made circuit boards with such high quality that they were sent around the company as exemplars to be copied.
In 1973, Myung Ja cofounded the Korean Methodist Church located at 3840 E. Pikes Peak Avenue. She was a Deacon who devoted nearly half century of service to the congregation.
While she was proud of her work outside the home, her main identity was homemaker. Myung Ja was a self-taught, expert seamstress who made all her children’s school clothes with her prized Bernina sewing machine. While her Korean cooking was beyond compare, it was American food where she was most proud to excel. Myung Ja attended Bride’s School sponsored by the American Red Cross in Korea. It is there that she learned to fry chicken, devil eggs and make a western bed. She also learned all about traditional American holiday meals like turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy for Thanksgiving. This was the only school she ever attended; the only diploma she ever received.
She is survived by her three daughters Helen Carroll, Myung Hee Justus and Linda Ginzel; six grandchildren Jennifer Olsen, Amanda Justus, Reanna Lane, Ely Keysar, Tomer Keysar and Avi Keysar; and 10 great-grandchildren Cole Simon, Blake Simon, Finn Olsen, Piper Olsen, Jax Olsen, Neve Olsen, Alyssa Corby, Emily Corby, Kylie Lane, and Ryan Lane
She was predeceased by her beloved husband Vernon Ginzel; grandsons Brian Kizielewicz and Danny Keysar, sister Seong Yoon and brother Soo Bai Yoon.
A Visitation for Myung will be held Monday, August 2, 2021 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Memorial Gardens Cemetery & Funeral Home, 3825 Airport Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80910 (719-595-7990). A second Visitation will take place Tuesday, August 3, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Memorial Gardens Cemetery & Funeral Home with a Memorial Service to follow from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM and Graveside Service at 12:00 PM.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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