Chong Ku Kim

Chong Ku Kim passed away on June 28, 2013 with his family by his side in University Place, WA. He was born on August 28, 1924 in the city of Yeasung in South Korea and came to the U.S in 1984. He is survived by his sister, his son, three daughters, and seven grandchildren. He was never one to sit still. There was always something to build, something to clean, or exercise to be done. His neighbors at his apartment in Tacoma describe him as a sweet man who would always help someone if they needed it, always outside doing something and keeping busy. He was instantly liked by anyone he met, even if they never exchanged words. He had a smile that could brighten any room, and nothing made him smile more than seeing his grandchildren. He was most happy when surrounded by all of his children and grandchildren and loved to laugh, dance, and sing his favorite Korean songs. To say he had a green thumb would be an understatement. He planted many gardens at his daughter’s house, driving from Tacoma to Bonney Lake almost every day rain or shine to work in them. We would come home to find freshly picked vegetables on the doorstep from whatever he worked on that day, and every summer meal was more delicious because of his garlic, green onions, lettuce, and herbs. No one is more resourceful or hardworking than he was; nothing was ever wasted. He sometimes even made his own rain gear for working in the yard from old clothes or plastic that he had cut. He could build or fix anything. Often we’d come home to find something new in the yard that he built to keep his gardens safe from birds and neighborhood animals- like a homemade scarecrow made from his granddaughter’s old stuffed animals, or a fence surrounding his garlic that he made from fastening scraps of wire together so tightly that nothing- or no one- could get through. He once managed to get a net over his giant pear tree even though he didn’t have a ladder. To this day we still don’t know how he did it. He was so precise and strong, any knot he tied could not be undone, and he kept everything so organized that he would know immediately if one tool from his shed was misplaced. He was truly one of a kind, loved deeply by his family, and he will be greatly missed.