Chong Min Choi

The late Deacon Chong-Min Choi was born on May 25th, 1931, as the youngest of three sons between his father, Byung-Soo Choi and mother, Gwi-In Kim in Ganggye in North Pyeongan Province. The deceased grew up under the roof of his aunt who lived in Sinuiju since he lost his mother when he was young. After Korea’s independence from Japan, he graduated from Sinuiju East Middle School in 1947 and soon escaped from North Korea. Then, he entered and graduated Dae-Kwang High School in Seoul and received admission to the Department of Chemistry at Yon-Sei university in 1950. However, the Korean War began the same year and lasted over 3 years, thus he was never able to attend university. Instead, he soon joined the army as military police, participating in the Korean War. He courageously devoted himself to defending his country, the Republic of Korea, and its freedom and democracy until the armistice in 1953.

After the Korean War, the deceased ran a photo studio in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, as well as another business connected to the U.S. 8th Army. In 1962, he married the late Jungok Choi and had four children, one daughter and three sons, settling down in Bulgwang-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul in late 1960’s. Afterwards, he worked as a manager at the Naija Hotel near Sajik Tunnel for over a decade and got a job at the Carnival Cruise in 1979 in pursuit of the American Dream, leaving his family behind in South Korea. He worked incredibly hard for the sake of his beloved family although it was difficult and lonely. He eventually became a permanent U.S. resident in 1989. Afterwards, he settled down in Houston, Texas, along with his wife and three sons and ran a beauty supply retail business for 15 years until he retired. Finally, he spent his rest of his life with his beloved wife, three sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren until he was called by God on May 22nd at the age of ninety-two.

The deceased, who lived a turbulent life during the Japanese colonial period, the Korean War, and eventually as an immigrant, was always strong, independent, and highly self-confident, so he was able to overcome all adversity by working harder than anyone else and fighting bravely at the border of the life and the death as well as surviving the harsh realities of life in this world. Although he had trouble expressing his feelings of love and was clumsy in his attempts to do so, we all knew he was our proud father who deeply loved his wife, children, and grandchildren from the bottom of his heart and sacrificed himself for his family all the time. Just as he recited the Lord’s Prayer and confessed his faith to the Lord before he passed away, we now want to give thanks and glory to God in honor of the deceased, who will enjoy his eternal rest in peace in Heaven.