Ok Ja Kim

OK JA KIM, 81, of Asheville, NC, passed away peacefully at home on February 13th, 2025. She was born on February 22nd, 1944 to Kim, Gyoh-Wan and Kwon, Gap-Sun in Kangwon Province, South Korea. As a young adult, she moved to Seoul, worked and lived independently for years and where she met Young Soo Kim of Kyung Ju. They married on April 15th, 1972 and shared a life of love and friendship. They immigrated to the US and together, they started, managed and sold several businesses in Asheville including Kim’s Wig Center and Kim’s Oriental Foods. Through their many successes and hardships, they supported each other and lived their lives gratefully and generously with family and friends. Ok Ja found immense joy in feeding her grandkids, loved her church community, and was an avid gardener and knowledgeable forager.

She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Young Soo Kim and is survived by her children, Nina and Andreas Reinhart, James and Jenn Kim, Peter Kim, Liz Allen and Wayland Bowie, and grandchildren, Joey, Emma, Layla, and Shay. She is also survived by her siblings Kim, Cheol-Hwan, Kim Hyeon-Ja, Kim Mun-Ja and extended family living in Korea.

Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 18 in the Patton Avenue chapel of Groce Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Green Hills Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to the Korean Methodist Church of Asheville.