Dr. Min Won Hahn

After escaping from North Korea in 1947 with his mother and three sisters, and eventually settling in Seoul, he graduated from the College of Medicine at Seoul National University in 1968 and married in 1970. Two years later, along with his wife and first daughter, Dr. Hahn immigrated to the U.S. and completed his medical training in New York City and Boston. He then moved to Williamsville, New York, where he worked as an anesthesiologist at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, New York, for 30 years. During this time he traveled thrice to North Korea on a Presbyterian medical mission to build a hospital in Pyongyang, coordinating the collection and distribution of medical supplies and equipment.

Dr. Hahn converted to Catholicism in 2002 and was a faithful member of the church – first at St. Andrew Kim Korean Catholic Church in Tonawanda and later at St. Paul Jung-Ha-Sang Korean Catholic Church in Las Vegas.

In 2006, Dr. Hahn and his wife left Williamsville for Chinle, Arizona, where Dr. Hahn practiced medicine on a Navajo reservation under the Indian Health Service for one and a half years. He then retired full-time to Henderson, Nevada, to pursue his other interests.

Dr. Hahn enjoyed exploring other cultures and traveled throughout the United States and across four continents. In addition, he was an enthusiastic, lifelong golfer – close to perfecting his short game – and a political junkie who could often be found with a Wall Street Journal in his hands. His deep appreciation for nature was showcased through his love for animals and the outdoors – hiking regularly with his wife at national parks throughout the U.S. – as well as his fascination with the weather. He will always be remembered for his easygoing and generous nature, his adventurous spirit, his laugh, his loyalty to his friends and his devotion to his family.

He is survived by his wife, Kwang Ja; daughters Katherine, Patricia (Sandholm) and Grace; and his grandchildren Anna, Adam and Sara Lessard, Madeline, Gabriella and Phoebe Sandholm, and Sophie Yang.

The funeral will be held on Thursday, October 25, 2012, at St. Paul Jung-Ha-Sung Korean Catholic Church, 6080 S. Jones Blvd, in Las Vegas, at 10:30am. Interment of his ashes will take place at Palm Mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Paul Jung-Ha-Sung Korean Catholic Church.

Arrangements under the direction of Palm Eastern Mortuary, Las Vegas, NV.