Kyu Chull “K.C.” Kim, age 83, passed away peacefully with family on July 28, 2026, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

He was preceded in death by his father Chae Sok Kim, Mother Yuen Hee Chung, sisters Dr. Soon Ock Kim, Soon Ki Kim, Soon Cha Kim, Yoo Sun Kim and brother Young Chull Kim. His wife Joan Louise Kim passed away in November 2025 and his grief was profound. Their 60th wedding anniversary would have been this July 6, 2026.

He was born November 27, 1942, in South Korea, the youngest in a large family. His childhood was scarred by the Japanese occupation, then the Korean War. Despite this he studied diligently to graduate from Seoul National University. He learned to speak English and never stopped enjoying “Gone with the Wind” as he remembered studying it in school.

He came to the United States for graduate school where he met his future wife in the library. They were married in a time and place where cross-cultural marriages were particularly challenging.

He worked in industry with his graduate degree but felt compelled to earn his PhD so went back to school. He said that in the winter at that time they were so poor my mother didn’t have socks. After his PhD, with his wife’s encouragement, they moved to Los Alamos where he worked as a scientist until his retirement.

He enjoyed nature and photography. When his daughters were young, he took them to collect wood and rocks in the mountains, to hike among the ruins in Bandelier and to catfish along the Rio Grande. He took them skiing and then for ice cream. Weekends he took his family to Santa Fe to a movie or the bookstore in his muscle car painted like the Bumblebee transformer.

He lived modestly and humbly in the same house since the 1970s while supporting his daughters in their education and his wife in her varied interests.

He loved to fish. One of his final wishes was to go out on a boat “to catch a big one” as he had decades earlier in Hawaii. He enjoyed playing Go and watching Kung Fu movies. He was creative and over the years he painted in acrylic, carved wood, sculpted in copper and made beautiful tables in solid granite. By himself he constructed a separate building for a hot tub in his back yard. He built a rammed earth structure on his land in Santa Fe. He was fit and fishing, shoveling gravel and climbing ladders until the last months of his life.

He was unpredictable. He was poetic then factual, sentimental then stoic and harsh. Some say he was intimidating and difficult to work with, but others remember the time and attention he gave in support of their goals. He encouraged others to excel and argued with supervisors to provide equal opportunities. Some people remember him as funny and curious while others recall his intelligence and work ethic. He said more than once, “It's better to be a good janitor than a mediocre doctor.” He was strict and protective yet seemed to enjoy vicariously when his daughters had their own adventures. He was extremely proud of Janice as she travelled around the world competing in Go tournaments, started a business and wrote Go books. He never discouraged Ellen from riding her motorcycle to Canada or hiking in South America. After he retired, he and his wife travelled to Hawaii many times and learned to scuba dive. On one trip they hired a guide and rented a kayak. Because the guide was kind to his wife, he didn’t just tip him, he bought another kayak for their small company to use.

In his last months of life, every person who treated him with kindness and respect was added to the long list of people he was going to take to dinner when he was out of the hospital. There are too many people to name at UNM Hospital and AMG Hospital who provided extraordinary care for him. We are extremely grateful for their compassion and competence. In another life, he would have taken you all to dinner.

He is survived by his two daughters, Ellen and Janice Kim and his grandchildren Malachi Kim Price and Ashira Kim Price.

Funeral services will be private with his only request to be buried by his wife on their land outside Santa Fe.

The Family of Kyu Chull Kim has entrusted the care of their loved one to DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory of the beautiful Espanola Valley 505-747-7477