Jeung Lee

Jeung Kwan Lee was born in Seoul, Korea, into a well-respected family with a recognized lineage in Korea. As an only child, his parents adored him and spoiled him.  Because he was an only male child for the 3rd generation, he was raised like a prince.

While his childhood and his early adulthood was carefree, his adult life was more challenging.  By the time he married, Korea was facing difficult economy in the early 1960’s and what there was of the family money had dwindled.  Jeung Kwan and his wife made a difficult decision in the early 1970’s to immigrate to the U.S., to seek new opportunities. His mother came too even though she was in her seventies. The family started a new life in Maryland where they had Korean contacts and could get some initial support.

Although learning a new language and trying to make a living in a foreign land was unbelievably difficult, especially with two young children and an elderly parent, Jeung Kwan and his wife worked hard to own and operate several different small businesses over the years. They ran businesses such as a wig store, a shoe repair store, drug store, and a dry-cleaning business. They successfully put both of their children through college and had their slice of the American dream—owning their own home and watching their family grow.

His faith in God played an important role in his life. It was his faith that enabled him to push through those days even when he was too ill to work but still had to force himself to drive an hour to open the family business for the day; or when he didn’t know what his future would hold when the drug store failed. All he knew was that God would provide.

Jeung Kwan enjoyed classic movies with Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, and Gregory Peck. He loved reading about Korean history. In his younger years, he led Boys Scout troops and achieved the level of an Eagle Scout. He loved kids and guiding young people in the beautiful outdoors; he loved being in the mountains hiking and rock climbing. Moving to Colorado from Maryland and seeing the mountains and the familiar mountain birds like the magpie was like home coming.

Jeung Kwan is survived by his wife of 62 years, son, daughter, and three grandsons.