Chong Im Owens
Sep 24, 1947 - Jun 19, 2024September 24, 1947 - June 19, 2024
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Chong Im Owens
Sep 24, 1947 - Jun 19, 2024September 24, 1947 - June 19, 2024
Place of birth
Pusan, South Korea
Most recently lived in
Annapolis, MD
Chong's favorite hobbies
She loved being with family and friends, going to church, cooking, eating, swimming, fishing, gardening, fiber arts, beauty and cosmetics, singing, reading, journaling, meeting new people, hoping and dreaming, joking and laughing, playing games of all kinds, binge-watching historical K-dramas, and sharing her family history and Korean culture. She was always willing to try again and try something new throughout her life, but she always knew what she loved and what she was good at. She was confident in her God-given gifts and happy to share with others.
Chong's favorite foods
She believed food is medicine and love and that she was the best cook and doctor. She loved to eat and cook for others and could make a delicious meal out of "nothing to eat." Her favorite cuisines were Korean, American, Italian, and seafood. She especially loved baked goods, Korean rice and soup dishes of all kinds, cheeseburgers, fried chicken, fish and crabs. She had a famous sweet tooth and loved to snack. She especially loved fresh fruits and vegetables and introduced her family to produce from around the world. She always took the time to plate and present her dishes, no matter how modest the meal.
Favorite bands and musical artists
She took pride in her own musical talents and loved to share her gifts with others. She was an amazing singer who sang in church choirs throughout her life and introduced her family to her passion for music. She played the harmonica and encouraged her children to learn to play instruments as well. She taught Korean folk songs and sang along to American Rock, Disco, Country, Soul, and Pop music, especially from the 60s & 70s. Her favorite American song is "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver.
Interesting facts about Chong
Despite losing her parents to the Korean War at a young age and being forced to leave school to care for her two younger sisters, she employed her resilience, creativity, ingenuity and vision to become an entrepreneur. She worked alongside her gifts to become a beautician and opened her own beauty salon in Korea. There she married her first husband, Robert David Moore, a U.S. Army mechanic from Washington state. They shared a love of nature, sense of adventure, and strong family values. They followed the American Dream to the United States where she earned her citizenship, became a licensed cosmetologist, and owned salons in America as well. Later in life, she remarried to her devoted husband to whom she is widowed, Francis John Owens. They shared their retirement together in Michigan and Maryland and enjoyed traveling, fishing, visiting casinos and spending time with children and grandchildren.
Chong loved nothing more than
She loved to talk and boast about her family, to include her six children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. She had a green thumb and could revive a wilted plant and called her plants her children also. She saw value and worth where others saw none, and she loved to mend and bring out the beauty and use in the broken. She wasn’t afraid of hard work and stayed busy executing her dreams and ambitions. She was self-sacrificing but also a boss, and she loved to show others the way. She loved nature and taught sustainability and holistic health and beauty to her family and friends. She never threw anything away that might have future use and was a saver. She was a kid at heart and a generous spirit who loved to joke, sing, play, help, make a friend, take a chance, and dream big dreams for herself and her family. She had an epic sense of humor, quick wit, was known for her laugh, and she loved to make others laugh. She loved to share the “best way do” from her Korean American experience and travels. She filled the room with her exuberance and commanded it with her presence, and all who met her remembered her and had a story. She was as famous for her unique and undeniable beauty as she was for her laughter and heart, and she loved nothing more than to share her world and gifts with others with authentic enthusiasm.
Favorite place in the world
She was a prolific traveler as a 1st generation Korean American immigrant. Korea was her home but she loved American style. She loved to curate and share the best and most useful from both worlds. She was both traditional and a trendsetter, a country girl at heart, but also city-savvy. She could make a friend and conduct business across language barriers. She held a driver’s license and passport throughout her life and used them. She was extremely proud of earning her American citizenship and was willing to update her views with modern times through the lens of her children and grandchildren. She voted in each election she was able, to include the past 2020 presidential election. She was well-traveled throughout America and even visited Texas for her final summer and Korea for her final birthday. However, her very favorite place in the world was with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She embodied home is where the heart is. She is now at her favorite place out of this world and somewhere she always wanted to go, with God in Heaven where she joins her beloved parents, her devoted husband, a cherished son, and her Kim ancestors whom she took great pride in honoring through growing her family across the world.
Favorite sports
She was quick, strong, coordinated and promoted an active lifestyle. She enjoyed sports she participated in such as swimming, fishing, and playing pool. She was willing to walk anywhere and considered daily life tasks and chores as an opportunity for exercise. She was fun-loving, always ready for friendly competition, and “number 1” at any activity she tried.
Chong's proudest accomplishments
She was very proud of earning her American citizenship and her profession as a licensed cosmetologist. However, she was proudest that she was a matron. She boasted of her children’s and grandchildren’s accomplishments and the gifts of her great-grandchildren as if they were her own. She said that living to see her great-grandchildren was her crowning achievement and ultimate source of happiness and fulfillment. Although she survived extreme poverty and hardships throughout her life, she often said that she was blessed with her children and family. They were her wealth and she always said that she was a “rich halmeoni (grandma)” at the end of her life.
Name of Chong's parents
Her father was Bongdae Kim, a dentist, and her mother was Bokdong Han, a jeweler. She was proud of her Korean heritage and parents and dutiful to their honor and legacy.
Name of Chong's siblings
She is survived by two younger sisters living in Korea, Wonja Kim and Yongae Kim, with whom she was able to reunite on her final visit to Korea.
Name of Chong's children
She is survived by her daughters Seonhwa Lee, Seunghee Lee, Melisa Kim Duncan, and her sons Cheolheng Lee and Robert John Moore. She is preceded in death by her son Jinheng Lee, which was her most heartbreaking loss. Her six children were her motivation and anchor to seek a better life. Her children honor and respect her difficult choices and admire her strength, bravery, and faithfulness to God throughout her journey. She was a visionary and possessed the nature, temperament, and faith to see her dreams through. She is now finally at peace with her ultimate dream fulfilled, to be with all of her children and loved ones at once and oversee her future generations across the world, next to the constant comfort and kindness of her Father God in heaven.
Name of Chong's grandchildren
She is survived by her five granddaughters Sehee Han, Mehee Han, Kiara Duncan, Tiara Duncan, and E’vaan Duncan. She deeply loved and revered each of her grandchildren and saw their individual gifts as a promise in furthering her legacy. Each of her granddaughters in-turn took part in caring for her needs and desires during her final years, ensuring her survival through the COVID-19 pandemic and allowing her to live long enough to witness the fruits of her labor and sacrifices. She often expressed pride and contentment in the future of the family in their hands and said that her granddaughters each fulfilled her personal dreams and wishes.
Name of Chong’s great-grandchildren
She is survived by her great-grandchildren, Aria Bella Grace Usog and Jonah Danilo Kim Usog. In her great-grandchildren, she witnessed the reward for her risks and sacrifices and the promise of her family’s future. She often said she could go to heaven in peace and happiness because she lived long enough to see her “future generations.”
Chong's character traits
She was faithful, diligent, and ambitious. She survived multiple wars, personal tragedies, and a global pandemic with her sense of humor, faith, and family stronger. She preferred simplicity but introduced her loved ones to the concept of quality and a taste of the finer things. Her favorite perfume was Chanel No. 5 and she loved jewelry, but she also loved anything free and practical and collected useful and beautiful everyday objects. She had a strong work ethic and didn’t allow anything to stop her, including her lack of formal education or inability to speak fluent English. She was fierce, brave, resourceful, clever, practical, strong-willed, and would find a way. She instilled the value of education and technology in her children as an opportunity she never had and as a desire for their lives to be easier. She possessed an adventurous spirit and encouraged her family to pursue their interests as well. She was willing to take big risks and make great sacrifices to provide better opportunities for her family, which she lived to see pay off. Despite the challenges she experienced in life, she remained faithful to God and her family and was always willing to forgive, laugh, and share. She had the courage, fortitude, and charisma to cross the world to follow her passions and dreams for a better life for herself and her family. She will be forever honored and regarded in family lore as a legend.
Obituary
Chong Im Owens, known affectionately as Halmeoni, passed away on June 19, 2024, at the age of 76. She was born on September 24, 1947, in Pusan, South Korea. Chong was a woman of many passions and talents. She loved being with family and friends, going to church, cooking, eating, swimming, fishing, gardening, fiber arts, beauty and cosmetics, singing, reading, journaling, meeting new people, hoping and dreaming, joking and laughing, playing games of all kinds, binge-watching historical K-dramas, and sharing her family history and Korean culture. She was always willing to try again and try something new throughout her life, but she always knew what she loved and what she was good at. She was confident in her God-given gifts and happy to share with others.
Chong believed in the power of food as medicine and love. She was an exceptional cook and loved to prepare meals for her loved ones. Her favorite cuisines included Korean, American, Italian, and seafood. She had a famous sweet tooth and loved to snack. She also introduced her family to produce from around the world. No matter how modest the meal, Chong always took the time to plate and present her dishes with care.
Music was another passion of Chong's. She was a talented singer and sang in church choirs throughout her life. She also played the harmonica and encouraged her children to learn to play instruments. She enjoyed Korean folk songs and American Rock, Disco, Country, Soul, and Pop music, especially from the 60s & 70s. Her favorite American song was "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver.
Chong's life was filled with remarkable accomplishments despite significant sacrifice and hardships. Growing up in the aftermath of the Korean War, she lost her parents at a young age and had to take care of her younger sisters. Despite these challenges, she became an entrepreneur and opened her own beauty salon in Korea. Chong met her first husband, Robert David Moore, a U.S. Army mechanic from Washington state, and together they pursued the American Dream. She earned her U.S. citizenship and cosmetology license, which she was proud to exercise. She opened her own salons in America and maintained her professional licenses until retirement.
Later in life, Chong remarried to her devoted husband Francis John Owens, a General Motors autoworker and Canadian American immigrant, to whom she is widowed. They enjoyed retirement together in Michigan and Maryland and loved traveling, fishing, visiting casinos, and spending time with her children and grandchildren.
Chong's proudest accomplishment was her family. She was a mother of six children and is survived by her daughters Seonhwa Lee, Seunghee Lee, Melisa Kim Duncan, and her sons Cheolheng Lee and Robert John Moore. Her cherished son Jinheng Lee preceded her in death and was her most heartbreaking loss. Chong was also a proud grandmother to her five granddaughters Sehee Han, Mehee Han, Kiara Duncan, Tiara Duncan, E'vaan Duncan and her two great-grandchildren, Aria Bella Grace Usog and Jonah Danilo Kim Usog. She saw her family as her greatest wealth and always spoke highly of their accomplishments.
Chong is survived by her two younger sisters, Wonja Kim and Yongae Kim, who live in Korea. She was preceded in death by their beloved parents, Bongdae Kim and Bokdong Han.
Chong was a woman of resilience, courage, and talent. She was an exuberant and indomitable spirit whose life was dedicated to her family legacy and God. She survived multiple wars, personal tragedies, and a global pandemic with her sense of humor, family, and faith stronger than ever. She will be remembered for having a heart as great as her beauty. Chong's impact on the lives of her family is immeasurable, and her legacy as a family legend will forever live on in the hearts of her loved ones.
Chong was a faithful member of Han-Sarang Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Millersville, Maryland. She was a generous spirit and gave when she could but regretted being unable to tithe in her later years. Still, Pastor Byungeun Benjamin Kim and his family provided for her needs on a weekly basis to include spiritual, cultural, and physical (food, transportation, Korean language media), and finally, presiding over her funeral service. It would be in her great honor to send donations to Han-Sarang Evangelical Presbyterian Church to continue her legacy of fostering faith in her family and across cultures.
Past ceremonies
Celebration of Life
Thursday, June 27, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Fundraiser for Chong
Chong was a faithful member of Han-Sarang Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Millersville, Maryland. She was a generous spirit and gave when she could but regretted being unable to tithe in her later years. Still, Pastor Byungeun Benjamin Kim and his family provided for her needs on a weekly basis to include spiritual, cultural, and physical (food, transportation, Korean language media), and finally, presiding over her funeral service. Pastor Kim is also the spiritual steward for her family in Korea and America. It would be in her great honor to send donations to Han-Sarang Evangelical Presbyterian Church to continue her legacy of fostering faith in her family and across cultures.
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Goal: $1,000
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Born on September 24, 1947
Pusan, South Korea
Passed away on June 19, 2024
Annapolis, MD