Jae Ock Hong

A sunbeam burst through the clouds when Jae Ock Hong, 87, of Chicago, Illinois, peacefully took his last breath surrounded by family at his home on December 11. Jae leaves behind his beloved wife Ha, his children, Mark Hong (Stella Park) and Jennifer Hong (George Imredy), and four grandchildren, Sasha and Shea Hong, and Mina and Max Silwany.

Those who knew Jae will remember him for his kind and generous soul. Each of his four grandchildren adored him and his final years were centered around their visits. He was pleased to pass down his love of learning and intellectual curiosity to his children and grandchildren.

Though he was a scientist by training – a practicing pharmacist as a young man in Seoul – he was also a lover of music and the arts. He reveled in the arias of Puccini and enthusiastically shared his love of Beethoven with his children, hoping that by providing them with piano lessons they would someday fill his home with classical melodies.

Jae also had a gift for languages and could greet anyone in their native language. He would instantly forge connections with others in this way and loved America for its diversity of cultures and ethnicities. He was a gentleman always. He liked to dress for the occasion, appreciated a nice hat, and his shoes were always impeccably shined. He recited poetry from memory, both from poets in his native Korean (Kim Sowol) or his favorite Western poets (Pushkin).

Jae was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1936, to Hong Won Sub and Moon Soon Duk, the ninth of eleven children. He grew up alongside the Han River where his childhood home dwelled on the north side. The river would play a vital role in his life. It was where he learned to swim, and he would flee across its icy floes several times with his siblings throughout the Korean War.

Jae was a survivor. He lived through the Japanese occupation and the liberation of the Korean peninsula. During the Korean War he subsisted on US military rations and the goodwill and generosity of American GIs who shared them. He loved the idea of America, of democracy and freedom, and knew that he would one day raise his family here.

Jae had friends in all corners of the world. He had old friends from primary school, and fellow classmates from Chung-Ang University where he graduated with a degree in pharmacy. He had friends from his days in the army when he served in the medical unit, all of whom he stayed close with throughout his life. Jae often spoke fondly of his colleagues when he worked as a chemist at the Caterpillar plant in the Quad Cities during the 1980s. After the plant’s demise, he then became a small business owner in Davenport, IA for the remainder of his working years.

Jae was a lover of life and was curious about people and the human experience. He recognized the “miraculous in the common,” as Emerson described it, and encouraged his loved ones to see the beauty of existence. He believed in service and whenever anyone needed anything he always extended a hand, quietly and humbly.

He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend, and will be missed for his colossal heart.

A memorial service will be held on December 27. Please contact the family for more information. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to pulmonaryfibrosis.org.