Moon Ja Garris

She was born on October 20, 1930, in Osaka, Japan, when Korea was under Imperial Japan’s colonial rule. In her teenage years, she and her family moved to their native town of Busan, South Korea. During the Korean War, Moon Ja met the love of her life, her husband Sergeant First Class Benjamin Garris Sr. (WWII, Korea, Vietnam), at Camp Hialeah. She emigrated to the U.S. in 1954.

Moon Ja lived in Killeen for 60 years, and was a familiar face to many through her years at Baker's Dozen Donut Shop in Harker Heights. She dedicated her life to being a devoted wife, mother, friend, and Halmeoni—which is Korean for grandmother—as she was affectionately known to her grandchildren.

She was a skilled tailor with a refined sense of fashion, a phenomenal cook, an NBA fan, and an unwavering believer in perseverance through life's challenges—"Choi power," as she'd frequently say to her children and grandchildren, encouraging them never to give up. With her departure, she leaves behind a legacy of immense love, kindness, humor, and altruism. Her family was her world, and she meant the world to her family.

Moon Ja is survived by her three children, Deborah, Marcia, and Benjamin Jr.; five grandchildren, Edward, Richard, Victoria, Benjamin, and Naomi; sons-in-law Guido and John, and extended family Lee Chun, Mr. Lee, Mary and Terry, and Diana Teel and Sherrie Gibson.

She was preceded in death by her parents Marchan Choi and Kim Mam Bun, her husband SFC Benjamin Garris Sr., and special friend and companion Jerry Gibson.