My Mom, Joy Kang was born on August 30th, 1962, in Pyungtaek, Korea. Her father passed away when she was younger, so she and her three brothers (one older, two younger) were raised by their mother, who still resides in Korea.
My Mom met my dad, Paul, through one of his sisters in 1982. They dated for five years before marrying each other and then two years later give birth to me, Tom, and four years later, to my brother James. However, they gave up their life in Korea when they decided to move to the U.S. to pursue furthering and bettering the education of my brother and I.
We arrived in Texas in 2001. Life was simple. Mom started taking us to a Christian churn as soon as we moved. Her late fatter was Catholic and her mother was Buddhist. We were all eventually baptized, on the same day, too! Mom tried to show us the world; we went on a lot of road trips within and outside Texas; one time we drove from Kileen, TX to Orlando, FL to Disney World. Also, one time she drove her own card and followed our school bus on a field trip to either Dallas or Houston with just a map in her hand (we didn’t have MapQuest or GPS, as you remember, back in the day).
Fast forward to moving to California, my dad knew a friend in Glendale, CA that offered new work and opportunity. So, we packed up and moved California where my dad learned how to make sushi and my mom waitressed for a few years before they moved to Glendora and opened Sushi-N-I in 2010.
Just over a year ago, mom was diagnosed with high-grade Glioblastoma multfome. However, she never showed sadness she always smiled. She would tell us that God gives us what is best for us. She was more concerned about my dad., brother, and me that she hadn’t done enough lor us. Yet her entire life she sacrificed for us!
I will always remember my mom as being amicable, adorable. innocent (When my dad would bring in a rose from their garden, Mom would get upset with him because he hurt the flower), gentle, beyond generous empathetic, kind, loving, endlessly positive, remarkably humble. wise, funny, quick-witted, dedicated, tough, brave, selfless, and God-fearing. I think, she was most happy when she gave things away. She truly enjoyed just sharing with others – strangers and friends alike.
The world tells us that happiness can be self-generated, but over the last few weeks, we’ve been thinking about how happiness can depend on one’s outlook surely. but a huge part of it is also based on others. My mom worked essentially every day at the restaurant and doing housework, while raising two children but she beamed when we did well in school In medical school. I’d call my parents before big exams, and she’d later tell me, “On those days that you took your exams, I took them also.”
My mother had an outlook that I don’t think many can replicate. Her joy came mostly from giving to others. To her, what she had was not her own but resources to be given away to those in need. It’s like she was sent to earth for the sole purpose of exemplifying motherhood. She gave every ounce of her being into making sure that her family was safe and happy. Yet when we tried to credit her for our achievements, she always directed us towards God saying, “I did not do anything.”
She loved everyone; she did not know any other way.
We miss her greatly.