She was born on May 7, 1932, in Seoul, Korea, to Joong Whoi Kim and Kyu Hee Lee. She was the eldest of five children. She graduated from Kyung-gi Girls High School, and Ewha Women's College. She went on to get her Master of Fine Arts degree at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in 1969.
She married Chan Yoon, a career diplomat for the Republic of Korea, in 1957 and had two sons, Herbert (Hoon Kee) and Charlie (Chul Kee), five grandchildren, Meredyth, Jane, Patricia, Kevin, Bryan, and one great granddaughter, Hana.
Her passions were classical music, gardening, and travel. She was a classically trained pianist and a social coordinator for diplomatic functions supporting her husband, who had a thirty year career as a diplomat representing the Republic of Korea, assigned to various stations which included the Korean Consulate in Honolulu, the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., mission head at the Korean Consulate in San Francisco, and Ambassador for Korea in Bangladesh, Peru, and Spain.
When her husband passed away at the early age of 61, she retired to Washington state, and moved to her house on Camano Island in 1991. For 35 years, she spent her time creating and tending to her garden with loving care and devotion.
Funeral services with be held at Purdy & Walters at Floral Hills, 409 Filbert Road in Lynnwood, Washington, on Friday October 9, beginning at 1 PM. Please visit https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/13042965 to leave condolences on her online guestbook.
