Dr. Richard Park

Dr. Richard Park, Colonel, US Army (Retired) passed into the Lord’s presence on Friday, March 25, 2022 at the age of 89. Dick is survived by his wife, Kum Ja, and his three children Glenn, Gail, and Kevin. His 61st wedding anniversary to his beloved wife was only weeks away. During the few days he was in home hospice, he often asked others, “How are you doing? Are you feeling okay?” He smiled and offered words of compassion and a touch on the arm while suffering from three brain tumors. Dick always put others first.

Dick graduated from UCLA in 1955, earned his MD from Marquette Medical School in 1959 and his Masters of Public Health from UC Berkeley in 1964. He started his career as a Captain with the Army’s Bayonet Division, 7th Medical Battalion, Korea, where he met Kum Ja. He retired as a full Colonel and Chief of Preventive Medicine at Fort Sam Houston after 20 years of honorable service. However, Dick’s numerous accomplishments pale in comparison to his reputation as a true physician who cared deeply about the body, mind, and soul of every patient.

The story of Dick’s life is not in his resume, but in how he lived out his faith in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as a physician, husband, father, and friend. He always put his faith into action, serving at various times as an elder, Sunday school teacher, and choir member. He travelled to Guatemala and the Yucatán on three medical mission trips, and his fellow volunteers still speak of his extraordinary ability to convey compassion and empathy that transcended the language barrier. Dick was almost 80 years old when he went on his last trip, working tirelessly to treat people who walked many miles for a chance to be seen.

Dick was known for his generosity, sense of humor and love of hymns, classical music, and most of all Kum Ja’s Korean cooking. Her lifelong dedication to Dick’s health helped him survive a heart attack and two bypass surgeries, allowing him to bless countless souls until the very end. His mortal life on earth and his eternal life he now lives in the Lord’s presence is best captured in 2 Timothy 4:7-8. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

Dr. Richard Park’s commitment service will be on April 15, 2022, 9:45 AM at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery at Shelter #5 with full military honors . His memorial service will be at First Presbyterian Church at 4:00 PM on the same day. Live streaming of both services will be available on the Sunset Memorial Park & Funeral Home website.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.sunsetfuneralhomesa.com for the Park family.