Choong Hyo Choi

Choong Hyo Choi was born on November 5, 1958 in Seoul, South Korea. His father was Kyung Seong Choi and mother was Soon Rae Won. He studied architecture and engineering in college and worked as an architectural engineer. His children recall him proudly pointing out buildings that he helped design and construct. 

Ready for the next chapter in life, he made the brave journey to immigrate to the United States with his wife and two young children to start a new adventure with a master’s program at an American university. He and his family lived in St. Louis then Columbia, Missouri where he attended the University of Missouri and obtained his master’s degree in environmental engineering.

Upon completion of his master’s degree, he moved to Seattle, Washington with his family. As with many first generation immigrants, despite being highly educated and highly skilled, Choong and his wife adapted and tried their hand at running a small business. They had a cute “mom and pop” style cafe in the Columbia Tower in downtown Seattle for nearly two decades. Choong (and his wife, of course) was constantly praised by his customers for his kind, friendly and genuine nature.

His most recent chapter involved owning and operating a convenience store / gas station in Port Angeles, located on the Olympic Peninsula. His regular customers lovingly called him “Jay” and despite being a man of few words, everyone knew his kind personality and warmth behind his professional demeanor. One of his long-time employees, who also happens to be a regular customer, said the following about Choong: “[He] was a very kind, gentle and exceedingly patient man. He will be missed by a great many in this little community.”

His favorite thing to do was spending time with his family. He loved fishing and being out in nature, often going to different trails and parks to walk their beloved family dog, Charlie. Choong was always Charlie’s favorite person. Choong played baseball in his youth and enjoyed watching the game, in addition to being passionate about Korean soccer teams. One of his favorite memories is from 2002, when the Korean national soccer team made it to the semifinals in the World Cup games, and the whole family stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to watch all the games.

Choong really loved traveling and going to new places. His children fondly remember all the summer road trips they would take during his breaks from graduate school. They drove, quite literally, all over - spanning from Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. to Las Vegas to South Dakota to New Orleans to Florida to Niagara Falls (both points of view, from Canada and New York!) to Washington D.C. He made sure his family got to see all the famous and important landmarks; they saw Mount Rushmore, the Hoover Dam, Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon, Devil’s Peak, Garden of the Gods, Grace Canyon, Bourbon Street (NOLA), Disney World, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and the list goes on. Choong even took his family to see Siegfried and Roy in Las Vegas (long before the tiger mauling incident). 

He loved trying new cuisines although he mostly liked sticking to his tried and true favorite meals. Choong loved his wife’s cooking the best; he would constantly tell her that her home-cooked meals were better than anything you could get at any popular restaurant. He was adventurous and fun and had a great sense of humor. He had great dad jokes, and humor was (and still is!) a very important part of being a Choi family member.

He held himself to somewhat impossibly high standards but was forgiving and gracious to everyone else. His actions spoke louder than his words, and he always treated everyone with dignity and respect, even if they didn’t deserve it. He was incredibly generous and loyal and always did everything & anything he could to support his loved ones. He had a warm, lovely, bright smile and was adored by his family and friends. His children always felt like they could talk to him about anything. He was probably the most non-judgmental person in the world; he always reminded his kids that you never know what someone is going through. His kids always told him that he was the best dad in the world, and this will always hold true. 

He was a sweet, thoughtful, loving husband to his wife, and they were each other’s best friend. Choong always put his wife and family first because his wife and children were everything to him, and reciprocally, he meant the world to his wife and kids. He is survived by his loving wife Hae Jeong and his adoring children Jenny and Josh and his loving sister Choong Hee (Grace).

Choong’s memorial service will be on Saturday July 12, 2025 at 1 PM at Seattle Covenant Church (Bethel Lutheran Church - Shoreline) located at 17529 15th Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155.