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In memory of

John Y. Kim

Skillman, NJ

March 27, 1972 - December 9, 2020

Mar 27, 1972 - Dec 9, 2020

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John Y. Kim, of Skillman, New Jersey, died on December 9, 2020, at the age of 48 after battling with liver disease and diabetes.

John is survived by his wife Chiho Nonaka; his three children, Hannah, Louis, and Lisa Nonaka Kim; his mother Yongho Hannah Kim; his mother-in-law Michiko Nonaka; his elder brother Herbert Kim, and niece, Alice Scout Kim; his elder sister, Nan Kim-Paik, brother-in-law Peter Paik, and nephew Elijah Seung-joon Paik.

John was born on March 27, 1972, to Drs. Youn-Suk Kim and Yongho Hannah Kim in Brooklyn, New York. Both his parents were originally from South Korea. His late father, originally from Gwangju, was professor emeritus of economics at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. His surviving mother, originally from Seoul, is a retired pediatrician. John grew up in Cresskill, New Jersey. He attended Johns Hopkins University, earning his bachelor's degree in International Relations in 1994.

John then worked in Seoul, South Korea, at the Maeil Economic Daily, first at the newspaper and later at its affiliated cable-news program, which he eventually anchored. Throughout the period of the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis, when many expatriates chose to leave the Asia-Pacific region, John stayed on to continue working in Korea. Beginning in 2000 during the period of Korea's economic recovery, John moved to the South Korean public sector and worked at the nation's leading financial regulator, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) where for two years he was the chief English-language editor and foreign-investment aide for the foreign-investment community.

John returned to the United States to earn his law degree at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. After a brief period practicing as an attorney, he worked at Bloomberg LP for a decade and played a key role in launching the Bloomberg Government (bgov. com) platform, which provides information and analytics for policy professionals who interact with the government. Since May 2018, John worked as Vice President for Data Management in the Office of General Counsel at JPMorgan Chase.

In 2015, John married his long-time sweetheart Chiho, whom he had met at Bloomberg’s orientation program on their mutual first day of work there. They quickly became friends, and within a month they had started dating. They married 8 years later, and they enjoyed traveling, scuba diving, and taking leafy walks along with their three dogs. After two years of marriage, their eldest daughter Hannah was born, and two years later they had their twins Louis and Lisa. He took great delight in his kids, and he cherished his family beyond measure.

John was a devoted father, a loving husband, and a Board Trustee for several years of the Korean-American Community Center of Greater Princeton, where he served as Treasurer before becoming Chief Financial Officer in recent years. He was a dedicated son and brother, who maintained a Covid-free bubble with his recently widowed mother throughout the pandemic. John actively stayed in touch with his siblings, and he did his utmost to buoy the spirits of his beloved mother while she was mourning the loss of his beloved father last September.

While John accomplished much in his life, he felt strongly that the love among family came before everything else.

The funeral was held on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, at Mather-Hodge Funeral Home in Princeton, New Jersey.

Many friends who wished to attend were unable to join us, and we'd like to share an excerpt from the eulogy:
"John was hard-working and driven and knowledgeable, but what I think about most is his kind heart and his open, welcoming spirit. He was someone who always wanted to share his knowledge and his insights, especially with young people, and he had so much to teach others. I always looked forward to seeing him on our visits to the East coast. It was always interesting to hear about his experiences in the business world, and I enjoyed as well learning about the work he did in Korea to help rebuild the Korean economy after the financial crisis. John could also see when people had something special about them, and was good at finding out what kind of aspirations they held as well as decisions they made. I remember him as someone who was eager to learn about others, and to draw from his rich store of ideas and experiences to help them move ahead along their path. I wish that we had been able to spend more time together, that we had been able to visit with each other more often and to laugh, celebrate, and share our lives with each other. John had so much to offer – he was smart, talented, ambitious, and perceptive. May we all draw together to remember him and to impart to his and Chiho’s children the precious memory of their loving father. "

Also read at the funeral were passages from a letter shared by a close colleague and friend:
"I will share a little about John from the time I was fortunate enough to work with him.... John was always the brightest guy in the room. We met with so many vendors, and it was always evident that he was the one that everyone looked to when answers were needed. On top of that his wittiness and ability to make people laugh completely put everyone at ease.
"I loved working with John. He was beloved by his teammates. They knew that they could come to him with questions about work, and outside of work. He was always there to lend an ear.
"I will really miss John. I am grateful that our paths crossed, and you all should be so proud of him. He was an absolute star, and the world was certainly better for having him in it."

John was held dear by a wide circle of those who loved him. He will be greatly missed.

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