Sooyoung Choi's Obituary
Sooyoung Choi, 71, passed away peacefully at his home in Provo, Utah on Wednesday, August 9, 2017. He was born on January 2, 1946 in Wando, Republic of Korea (ROK), to Hongmin Choi and Bongrae Kim, and was the youngest of five boys. Sooyoung served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in the Korea Seoul Mission (1971-73) and married Ockja Huo, whose heart he won after proposing to her multiple times, on March 16, 1974 at the Laie Hawaii Temple.
Sooyoung earned his PhD in Instructional Science and Technology from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1981. He taught at BYU 1979-1986, developing its Korean language program, and returned to the ROK in 1986 to teach English Education at the Korea National University of Education, retiring in 2011. Sooyoung served as president of the Korea Association of Multimedia Assisted Language (1999-2001) and as president of the Korea English Education Society (2007-2009).
Friends and family members often described Sooyoung as a spiritual giant, a pure and selfless soul, who had a deep and abiding faith in and love for Jesus Christ. He often reminded his children and church members -- whom he served in various callings, including as Sunday School Teacher, Bishop, and Stake President -- that "No other success can compensate for failure in the home" (J. E. McCullough). His other favorite quotes and scriptural passages include "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise" (D&C 82:10), "The most important of the Lord's work that you will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home" (Harold B. Lee), and "America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great" (Alexis de Tocqueville).
Sooyoung liked peaches and enjoyed farming and genealogy work. While frugal toward himself, he was very generous to others. He would be hesitant to treat himself to a $3 haircut but often helped feed the LDS missionaries and donated to various charitable causes. Sooyoung is survived by his wife, Ockja; daughter, Pearl, wife of David and mother to Ellis, Caitlyn, and Marcus Kim; son, Joseph, husband to Sora and father of Elly and Clayton; son, Jacob; son, Michael, husband to Lara and father of Lillia, Leslie, Ellie, and Howard; and daughter, Sarah, wife of Jay and mother of Adalie, Ariana, and Aiden Tyau.
His funeral will consist of a public viewing at 10:15 a.m. and a service at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 12, 2017 at the LDS chapel located at 3500 N 180 E Provo, UT 84604. Interment will be at 4 p.m. at Eastlawn Memorial located at 4800 N 650 E Provo, UT 84604.
He would wish his family to thank the wonderful members of the Riverside Ward who inspired him through the years and brought him love and comfort in his waning months.
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