Wook Ja Ju

Dr. Wook Ja Ju, age 87, of Virginia Beach, VA, passed away peacefully in her home on January 24, 2025. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Dr. Ju was the daughter of Bong Jung Lee and Sook Moo Yu. She attended Ewha Middle and High Schools and the Pre-Medicine Department at Yonsei University, where she obtained her undergraduate degree. Dr. Ju was a graduate of the College of Medicine at Yonsei University (1958-1962), where she was notably one of six women in a graduating class of 68.

After graduation from medical school, she worked as a doctor for Yuyu Pharma (1963-1965) in Anyang, Korea. She then made the courageous decision to come to the United States on her own in 1965 and lived in different parts of the country. She completed a rotating internship at Tucson Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona (1965-1966). She then completed two anesthesiology residencies: one at Metropolitan Hospital Center in New York City (1966-1967) and another at Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx Municipal Hospital Center (1967-1968). She was an anesthesiology fellow at DC General Hospital in Washington, DC (1968-1969).

Through mutual friends in Washington, DC, Dr. Ju was introduced to her husband Dr. Woo Jung Ju, whom she felt so blessed to have met and have in her life. Throughout their lives together, he supported her personally and professionally. After their daughter, Su Sie, was born in 1970, Dr. Ju decided to switch specialties and become a pediatrician. She did a pediatrics residency at the Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, NC (1972-1974). This was possible with the support of her husband, who was a professor of history at Elizabeth City State University, more than a four-hour drive away, and who served as the primary caregiver of their daughter during Dr. Ju’s residency. For a brief period, she worked as a staff physician in Lynchburg Training School and Hospital. After moving to Virginia Beach, VA, she was a civilian pediatrician at the US Army Health Clinic at Ft. Monroe in Hampton, VA (1974-1981). Then, for over twenty-five years, she worked in solo practice as a dedicated pediatrician. During her practice, she also served as faculty at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA, as an Instructor of Clinical Pediatrics.

While she immensely enjoyed serving others as a doctor, she also understood the privilege she had in being able to do so. She always talked about how she was able to go to and graduate from medical school only thanks to the generous financial support provided by the President of Yonsei University’s College of Medicine, Dr. Myung Sun Kim. So that others could also benefit from such financial support, in 2012 Dr. Ju created an endowed scholarship that, for more than a decade, has covered the annual tuition of a Yonsei medical school student.

Known in medical school as “mother hen,” she indeed lived a life of caring for others. In addition to serving hundreds of children and their families to whom she offered a physician’s care at all hours of the day and night, Dr. Ju, along with her husband, supported many individuals in need of help fighting against injustice or harm or in navigating unfamiliar systems. She also was a supportive partner of her husband’s tireless fight against the dictatorship in South Korea. During the difficult time when her husband’s health was in decline due to Parkinson’s disease, she was a dedicated caregiver until his passing in 2007. For her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren, she was an endless source of unfailing love and support and good humor.

Dr. Ju is survived by her daughter Su Sie Ju, her son-in-law Eric Angel, and her grandchildren Julia Su Yun and Sammy Tae Joon Angel; her brother Kyu Chan Lee, his wife Young Ran Lee, and their two children John and Ben Lee; Eric and Austin Lee, the children of her late sister Christine Kyu Sook Lee and her husband Kenneth Kyung Yun Lee; and relatives in South Korea. Dr. Ju will always be remembered as a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. Known for her warmth, generosity, and helpfulness, she will always remain in the hearts and minds of family and friends.

Her family would like to express their deep appreciation and gratitude to the many people who offered their friendship, kindness, and support to Dr. Ju over the years. Her family especially thanks the Tidewater Korean Baptist Church community.

A visitation for Dr. Ju will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Rosewood-Kellum Funeral Home, 601 N. Witchduck Rd., Virginia Beach, VA 23462, followed by a funeral service at 2:00 PM. The burial will occur after the service at Rosewood Memorial Park. Following the burial, there will be a reception with food at Tidewater Korean Baptist Church, 301 Overland Rd., Virginia Beach, VA 23462. Relatives and friends are kindly invited.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made on behalf of Dr. Wook Ja Ju to The Michael J. Fox Foundation or Tidewater Korean Baptist Church.