Obituary of Nam Soon Cho
Jo Nam Soon (AKA Halmoni), 90 years (Korean Age), of Las Vegas, Nevada, passed away on Monday, May 18, 5:16pm. Halmoni was born on July 29, 1930 in Seoul, South Korea to parents Jo Won Gu and Min Yong Sik.
Halmoni graduated from Sungshin Girl's High School. She married Chi Yang Pil in 1950 in Seoul. In her working days, she worked for and helped found local churches. She was a missionary, and she sheltered teenagers as well as other struggling individuals in her church with love and dedication. She built two Christian Churches that flourished, survived the Korean War, moved to America at age 60 to support her grandchildren for 30 years, tended bountiful gardens, and loved all children.
Corry Guerra (15) recalls that since elementary school, Halmoni was taught Japanese in school, as a result of the Japanese occupation of Korea. "She often reminisced to us about how her teachers would fawn over her and how her classmates seemed to envy her. She was born into a royal family with her five siblings and received care and attention from her staff and parents. Halmoni considered her childhood peaceful and full of content; she carried her memories with gratitude." We were and continue to be humbled by her outlook, as she also experienced war, poverty, and painful losses during much of her adult life. Her greatest blessings came when she "graduated" to grandmother and was known throughout the neighborhood and community as “Halmoni.” She loved and nurtured children throughout her life.
She will be remembered as a virtuous missionary, the most loving mom and grandma ever, and the most insightful life advice guru. She enjoyed knitting, reading Japanese and Korean literature, gardening, storytelling, giving, and sharing. She is an expert knitter, a master gardener, and the cutest person to live without teeth.
The family will celebrate her life in a private family ceremony at their home on Monday, July 6, 5-6pm. The family wishes to thank all who knew and loved Halmoni.
She is survived by family in Las Vegas, Nevada and Seoul, South Korea:
Heju (Daughter) & Anthony Guerra (Son-in-Law) and their children: Thohyenam Guerra, Dorry Guerra, Jotony Guerra, Tong Guerra, Onam Guerra, Paul Guerra, Hyung Nam Guerra, and Un Hyang Guerra; Sung Woo Chi (Son) & Ka Hee Kim (Daughter-in-Law) and their children Joo Hee Chi, Hogeun Chi, Soo Chi; Song Hee (Daughter) & Ken Doo (Son-in-Law) and their children Roomee Doo, Ken Doo Jr., Sylvia Doo, Rose Doo, Hyang Won Doo. She was predeceased by her son Hyuk Il, and husband Chi Yang Pil.
On Death
Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.