Kyungshim Oh Namkoong, 87, of Branchburg, NJ, passed peacefully on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at her home surrounded by her loving family. She was born in 1935 to Chunmyung Oh and Sonyo Yoon in Sinuiju, Korea when it was under Japanese occupation.

She lived most of her childhood with six siblings in Yeongwol, Korea but at the age of 15, the Korean War broke out, forcing her family to flee further south on foot for a monthlong journey to Pusan.

After the Korean War ended, she continued her education, graduated high school in Seoul then briefly attended Ewha University as a literature major. She later became interested in the sciences, studied hematology and became a licensed lab technician.

She married in 1961, to her late husband Won Namkoong, and they immigrated to the United States in 1971 with their two children. She continued her work as a lab technician in the United States at Mercy Hospital in Long Island, New York.

After her husband finished his Anesthesiology residency in Long Island, they moved to upstate New York where she pursued her natural talents in art and singing. She created many beautiful oil paintings and loved singing in the church choir. Her beautiful, soprano voice could often be heard at home singing hymns.

Living in snowy upstate New York, she often took her children skiing and waited in the lodge all day. After doing this for several years, at the age of 45, she decided she wanted to be out on the slopes too and started taking ski lessons. She was a fast learner and could soon keep up with the kids. At the age of 50 she learned how to play tennis, and this soon became her passion. She played on several USTA teams, met many friends, and traveled long distances to several tournaments. She played tennis until age 83. When she could no longer play tennis, she went back to pursuing her love of art and learned a new technique called Hanji, Korean paper art. Using Korean rice paper, she created many beautiful pieces of art that she displayed in her home or gave away as gifts.

Over the last ten years, she pursued her love for traveling and went to many countries in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. She was always passionate about flowers and gardening. She created a stunning flower garden and cultivated a beautiful greenhouse, so she was able to enjoy an abundant variety of flowers throughout the entire year.

She cherished her children and five grandchildren, and they will miss her greatly.

She is survived by her two children Grace (son in-law Thomas Davitt) and Peter (daughter in-law Kimberley Namkoong) and five grandchildren, Lauren Namkoong, PJ Namkoong, Olivia Namkoong, Leah Davitt, and Anna Davitt.

The family would like to thank staff at Hunterdon Hospice for their care and love.

A private family funeral service will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2023 at Branchburg Funeral Home and entombment will take place at Somerset Hills Memorial Park in Basking Ridge, NJ.