Gil-Soo Choi

Gil-Soo Choi of Lowell, Massachusetts, died at Lowell General Hospital on December 3, 2025.

He was born in Hiroshima Japan on October 1, 1933. He and his family survived the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 and moved back to Korea in the same year. Gil-Soo joined the Korean Marines and served alongside American troops during the Korean War. He married his wife, Chun-Sil Choi, shortly after completing his military service. They had four daughters during their 64-year marriage. In Korea, he owned a small business handcrafting wooden furniture. In 1980, he and his family came to the United States to pursue their American Dream – financial stability, education, and opportunities for his children. They settled in Augusta, Maine, where they lived for almost 40 years. After a short stint in construction, Gil-Soo worked for L.L. Bean in Freeport, ME after learning the trade of hand sewing their iconic boat shoes. He proudly retired from L.L. Bean after working there for over 25 years. He returned to cobbling at other well-known companies such as Eastland and Allen Edmonds before “Papa-san” and “Mama-san” officially retired in 2008. In his retirement, he was able to travel to destinations worldwide with his wife, tinker on endless projects in his garage, take daily walks with his wife all around Augusta, and most importantly, finally focus on his beloved golf game. His big dreams of joining the Senior PGA Tour were ironically as high as his handicap that prevented him from actually going pro, but his aspirations continued to drive him to the fairway greens and his joy. Gil-Soo and his wife relocated to Lowell, MA to live under the care of their daughter in 2016.

Gil-Soo was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, and sister. He is survived by his wife, Chun-Sil Choi (Lowell, MA); daughters, Son-Hyea (Scott) Storgaard (Lady Lake, FL), Yun-Son Choi (John Cobb) (Gray, ME), Yun-Ju Choi (Lowell, MA), and Yun-Suk (Brian) Byrne (Southington, CT); grandchildren, Matthew (Jessica) Storgaard (Winchendon, MA), Joshua Storgaard (Proctor, VT), Sarah Storgaard (Madison, WI), Alexander Cobb (Braintree, MA), Nicole Cobb (Gray, ME), J. Nolan Byrne (Southington, CT), Wyatt Byrne (Southington, CT), and Evan Byrne (Southington, CT); great-grandchild, Lena Marie Choi Storgaard (Winchendon, MA), who was born just two days prior to Gil’s passing; brother, In-Soo Choi (Duluth, GA); and several nieces and nephews.

Gil-Soo will be truly missed by his family and friends. Alongside grief, there are so many wonderful memories and gratitude for the life he was able to build in his 92 years. 

Private services will be arranged for his family at a later date. E-condolences at www.odonnellfuneralhome.com. Those wishing may make contributions in his memory to Coalition For A Better Acre, 517 Moody Street, 3rd Floor, Lowell, MA 01854. Arrangements by the O’DONNELL FUNERAL HOME - LOWELL - MA – (978) 458-8768.

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