Obituary of Kil Sam Lee

Kil Sam Lee, age 78, longtime resident of Chicago, passed into the company of the loving arms of God on Wednesday, September 16, 2020. He was the rock to his beloved wife So Ja of 48 years, and loving father to Issac (Mirhee), David (Aimee), Chang (Hannah) Lee and Mieoak (Joseph) Bahk. Nine grandchildren are blessed with the memory of calling him “할아버지” (hal-abeoji, Korean for grandfather). Kil Sam was a gifted man, a jack of all trades, skillful with his hands as a mechanic, carpenter, photographer and fisherman. But, more than a hammer, wrench, camera or fishing rod, he always had the word of God in his hand and in his heart. The Bible pointed him to a God that captured his heart by first loving him in spite of all his frailties and sin. He longed to learn more about this sacrificial and covenantal God and to love and worship him with his whole life. Kil Sam and So Ja dedicated their Sundays to a ministry reaching out to Korean vendors in a number of flea markets across the Chicagoland area. They wanted to bring church to them, which took the form of a bi-folded 8x11 piece of paper with a printed chapter from a book of the Bible, accompanied by a stick of Wrigley’s Spearmint gum. This ministry eventually grew into a tri-lingual ministry: many English and Spanish speaking vendors asked for the printed Bible passage – and a stick of that spearmint gum. They printed Bible passages in English, Korean and Spanish reaching over 300 people each Sunday. After over 30 years of faithfulness to this calling, the only thing that stopped him was when he was physically unable to do this anymore. Kil Sam was a man of few words but he let his life speak volumes for itself. And when he did speak, his words carried a weight that flowed from rivers of a deeply committed life. He instilled within his children this unwavering, bulletproof devotion to Christ through the life he lived before them. Funeral Service: 9/22 (Tue) 10:00 am at Kolssak Funeral Home, 189 S Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling. Committal Service: 9/22 (Tue) 12:00 pm at Mt. Olive Cemetery, 3800 N Narragansett Ave, Chicago