Jong Wan Jonathan Lee's Obituary
Jonathan was born on February 4, 1932 in Korea.
At 19, Jonathan served in the Korean War as an interpreter for the U.S. Army before he was shot under friendly fire. Losing use of his right arm, after much therapy, Jonathan became a left-hander for life. He never complained.
In 1957 while teaching English, he met Yungja Park. One night after inviting her for a cup of tea date, he was smitten. They would soon marry.
In 1959, with $75 dollars and a suitcase, Jonathan emigrated to the United States. Six months later he sent for Yungja and their son, Peter, whom Jonathan had yet to meet.
Being perfectly bilingual, Jonathan worked as the radio announcer to Korea for the Voice of America.
After learning to write computer code at night school, Jonathan accepted a job offer at American Airlines where he was among the earliest programmers for American Airlines’ Sabre system. The Lees became the first Korean family to reside in the State of Oklahoma.
Jong Wan was the leader of the Korean-American community in Tulsa where he volunteered thousands of hours to help immigrant families. Realizing that the Korean-American community needed a community place of worship, he found the Korean Baptist Church that worshipped in the chapel of the First Baptist Church thanks to pastor, Warren Hultegren.
In 1976 Jonathan, Yungja and Peter became United States citizens. Peter would later serve as an aviator in the United States Navy. In 2016, Jong Wan’s proudest moment as an American came when Peter’s son, Alexander, became a Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy. Alexander is now a Marine helicopter pilot.
Jong Wan and Yungja had three more sons, John, James, and Joseph. All attended Tulsa schools. Peter graduated from the University of Oklahoma and John, James and Joseph graduated from Oklahoma State University.
Upon retiring from American Airlines, Jong Wan became a fulltime associate pastor at the Korean Baptist Church. Jong Wan and his wife, Yungja, would later serve as missionaries in China for twelve years before returning to Tulsa.
On March 23, 2022, Jonathan passed away peacefully at St. Francis Hospital.
Jonathan is survived by wife, Yungja, sons Peter, John, James and Joseph, daughters-in-law, Marie, Sharon, Monica and Jennifer, and grandchildren Alexander, Shannon, Jessica, Sumer, Peter, Lucas, Johnny, Evelyn, Sam, Karissa, Shane, Micah, Merline, and Merlande.
Jonathan will be laid to rest at the National Memorial Cemetery in Korea.
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