Sunja Choi Joel

Sunja was a vivacious person who loved life, and was a vivid, warm presence in the lives of her loved ones. She made an immediate and memorable impression on anyone who met her. She was direct and to the point, while also being caring and kind. She was always quick to laugh. She was deeply committed to her children – Vivian, Alex, and daughter-in-law Hilary—and took enormous pride and joy in her grandchildren – Bryan and Adam (sons of Alex and Hilary), and Winston (son of Vivian). Sunja loved nothing better than spending time with her children and grandchildren and laughing with them… and dancing. She loved and mastered every type of ballroom dance from salsa and tango to swing and waltz, and even took small roles in Vivian’s modern dance ballets in the ‘70s. For decades, she regularly danced joyfully, exuberantly, and with great skill.

Sunja was born in Busan, South Korea, on May 5, 1933. She grew up in a close family as one of six children. For the first 12 years of her life, Korea was under Japanese occupation. She did not speak in detail about those times, other than to say that they were difficult, and that all students were required to speak Japanese in school. She would speak proudly of the fact that her father was the respected principal of one of South Korea’s leading high schools. The stories she recounted of her own high school experience were happy ones, and she enjoyed regaling her children and grandchildren with short vignettes of athletic and academic achievements.

Having grown up under foreign occupation, Sunja again experienced national turmoil when North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, when she was 17. The North Korean troops surrounded her home city of Busan (at the southern end of the country), before being pushed back by American and other United Nations forces.

During the 1950s she worked in the offices of the UN, where she met Clark Joel, who was born in Germany, grew up in Egypt, and obtained his undergraduate and graduate degrees in the U.S. Clark was assigned to Korea as an economist. As Sunja would tell the story, they corresponded after Clark left the country for another position, and she “got tired of waiting for him” and became engaged to marry a Korean military officer. When Clark found out, he rushed back to Korea. They were married in 1959 in Seoul, Korea.

As an economist and career U.S. foreign service officer, specializing in developing countries, Clark’s job took them to many different places where she enjoyed getting to know other expatriates and locals, and hosting diplomatic dinner parties with elaborate homemade feasts featuring her creative takes on Korean cuisine (based on local ingredients), including her own kimchi. They lived in Virginia, where daughter Vivian was born in 1961; Vientiane, Laos, where son Alex was born in 1964; San Salvador, El Salvador; Arlington, Virginia; Panama City, Panama; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Kingston, Jamaica; and then back to Guatemala and El Salvador. Sunja’s diverse life experiences gave her fluency in four languages—Korean, Japanese, English, and Spanish.

After Sunja’s 25-year marriage with Clark came to an end, she settled down in Arlington, Virginia, where she met Terry Horning, whom she got to know through their mutual love of ballroom dance. Terry moved in with Sunja in Ballston, Virginia, in 1995. They were inseparable and lived and danced very happily together for many years. They spent a great deal of time with grandchildren Bryan and Adam, and later with Winston, all of whom developed a very close relationship with “Oma,” as Sunja wanted to be called. (Oma means “grandmother” in German and resembles the word for “mom” in Korean..

Sadly, Terry passed away unexpectedly in 2023.

In her later years, Sunja suffered from Alzheimer’s. Fortunately, Vivian lived next door to her and took on responsibility for her care. The family was blessed to find loving, expert care for Sunja, so that she could continue to live comfortably in her home. The family is so very deeply grateful to Sunja’s caregivers.

Sunja lived a full life filled with vivid experiences, some challenging, many joyous. If there is a heaven, Sunja is sure to be there, dancing.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Sunja Joel’s memory to

www.UsagainstAlzheimers.org