Yong Joo Shin, 68, passed away on July 27, 2020 at Duke Raleigh Hospital. He was born on November 13, 1951 in Busan, South Korea. After living in South Korea for his young adult years, he decided to move to the United States after getting married to his wife, Eun Son, in the early 1980’s to follow his older sister, Yang Cha, who had moved to America in the previous year.
Yong Joo started his family in Alabama having a son, Peter, and daughter, Annie, before moving to North Carolina where he would spend the last 35 years of his life in the Raleigh area. He would go on to have another son, Andrew, 18 years after his first child.
As one of the first few Korean-Americans to arrive in Raleigh, he built one the first Korean grocery stores in the area by buying and remodeling a house with the money he had saved up from working in a factory the first few years in America. He would move on to successfully own several small businesses including real estate properties in the coming years.
Most of this success was attributed to his tireless work ethic and willingness to sacrifice his time to help family and friends with no questions asked. He was viewed as a man with a gentle soul. A man with few words but when he did speak, it spoke volumes. He would show his love and compassion not only through his words but by example and faith.
Yong Joo was a very devout Christian as he and his wife became Deacons of the First Korean Baptist Church in Raleigh. In addition, they would also become leaders in helping new church members on a weekly basis that had recently moved to North Carolina. It is from decades of these interactions in helping others settle and acclimate in the Raleigh area that allowed Yong to reach and touch so many people’s lives.
Yong Joo is survived by his loving wife, Eun Son Shin after 39 years of marriage together, his son, Peter Shin, his daughter, Annie Ngo, his son, Andrew Shin, his grandson, Aston Ngo, and his sister, Yang Hairston. His memorial service will be held on August 1, 2020 at the Mitchell Funeral Home at Raleigh Memorial Park. Services and visitation for Yong Joo will be private.
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