Sang Soon Kwon, age 84, of Questa, passed away on Christmas Day. Mr. Kwon was born in South Korea near the current Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the 10th lunar month, 1st lunar day of the Year of the Ox, 1937. He was from a Buddhist family and later became a Christian.

After losing his father during the Korean War and as the oldest son, Mr. Kwon became the family breadwinner. At the age of 12 he was a photographer’s apprentice and eventually opened several photography studios in Seoul.

Mr. Kwon came to the US in 1979 and put four children through college. He loved everything American, especially chocolate. He loved the smothered burrito, Memphis style, from Shotgun Willie’s in Red River (see our Father’s Day issue, June 2019). Mr. Kwon was proud of his teeth. He was a frequent flosser and had a beautiful smile.

Mr. Kwon moved to Questa after his fourth divorce to live with his daughter, Hae Won Kwon. He was a devoted cat butler and “pyromaniac.” His family thanks the Latir Volunteer Fire Department for their patience and equanimity.

A lady’s man to the end, he stopped flirting only when he fell and broke his hip. Before his fall, he took daily walks by the El Rito Stupa with his beloved cats. He marveled at the American Buddhist community that built the stupa, and at his own karma that put him there.

He is survived by an older sister, younger brother, and younger sister, all residing in South Korea; three ex-wives (he married one woman twice), and children and grandchildren. He will be cremated in a private ceremony by Rivera Funeral Home, and his ashes scattered in Colorado next to the remains of his daughter, Hae Jin Kwon, who predeceased him.