Ken Kyung Sunoo

Ken Kyung Sunoo was born on December 19, 1963 in Pohang, South Korea to parents Yup Sunoo, a church elder and officer in the R.O.K. Marines, and Kun Hi Sunoo, a music graduate of Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, Korea, majoring in piano. Preceded by his father, Ken emigrated to the US with his mother just before he turned four, and the family made their new home in the San Francisco Bay Area where Ken’s brother and best friend Ted was born a few years later.

A proud graduate of Skyline High School in Montclair, CA and the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley, Ken enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) in the fall of 1988, inspired by the preaching of Rev. Earl Palmer in Berkeley during his college years. After completing a year-long internship at Young Nak Presbyterian Church in Seoul, Korea, he returned to complete his Master of Divinity degree at PTS, graduating in late May 1992 and a week later marrying fellow seminary graduate Deb Hannay on June 6, 1992. He later earned a Master of Theology in Theological Ethics from PTS (1994) and a Doctorate in Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary (2012).

Far more important than any of Ken’s degrees, however, were his beloved daughters. Ken and Deb joyfully welcomed Rebecca in 1994 while living in Maryland, and Alina in 1999 not long after their move to Seattle. Ken enjoyed countless hours napping with his babies on his chest, running around with them on the playground when they were young, traveling with them and cheering them on in dance and taekwondo as they grew. As his illness progressed, he was grateful to have made it to Madrid in April to visit Rebecca, and to have celebrated Alina’s wedding to her husband Jack in June.

Ken was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA) on November 13, 1993 at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan, NJ and went on to serve three more congregations over the course of his 31-year pastoral career: Chestnut Grove Presbyterian Church in Phoenix, MD (1994-1998), Wallingford Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA (1998-2013), and University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA (2015-2024) where he served most recently as Pastor of Outreach and Global Ministries.

After nearly three years of bravely battling late-stage gastric cancer while working full time, traveling, playing basketball, and waterskiing, the end for Ken came much more suddenly than anyone anticipated. Just over three weeks after returning from an international trip to Vietnam and Korea, he passed away at Evergreen Health Hospice Care in Kirkland, WA on August 17, 2024 in the company of Deb, Rebecca, and Alina. He is also survived by his mother Kun Hi Sunoo and brother Ted, Ted’s wife Elena and their children Miguel and Rita, and his new son-in-law Jack. He was preceded in death by his father Yup Sunoo, a loss he felt deeply to the end of his life. Ken’s confident belief in the Resurrection allows us to imagine them now enjoying a meaningful reunion.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 31, 2024 at 1:30 pm at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA.

Those who would like to make a memorial gift in Ken’s honor are encouraged to support the important work of World Vision around the globe (www.worldvision.org), or to direct their gifts to Global Ministries at University Presbyterian Church.