Funeral/Memorial Fund for Daniel (Gonzoine) Kim

UPDATE 2:

Daniel’s memorial service is currently scheduled for Saturday, November 16, 2019 @ 6:00PM and held at:

Atlanta Korean SDA church
4801 Old Norcross Rd
Duluth, GA 30096

All family, friends, and loved ones  are welcome to honor and remember Daniel’s short but bright life.

In lieu of flowers, Susan and Caroline Kim, Daniel’s sister and mother, would like donations to be sent to FAYA (Fellowship of Adventist Young Adults),  “a ministry of young adults/professionals in the Korean-American Adventist community who seek to unite, connect and serve peers and the next generation.”

A heartfelt and inexpressible thank you to every one of you, including your thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and generous support. Thanks to your donations, we are fast approaching our initial goal, and with much care and deliberation, we have chosen to raise our goal to reflect the outpouring of love and care for Daniel’s surviving family.

UPDATE 1:

Daniel and Susan’s mother was initially admitted to the hospital due to heart concerns.  She had an overnight stay and catheter placement to determine if a stent was required.  Fortunately she was cleared, but it was likely the symptoms of “broken heart syndrome”.  She has returned home which is in need of fixing.  Daniel had been patching it up as they went with plans to save and build a new place for her, but those plans were cut short.  We are not changing the current goal of the gofundme at this time because the exact cost hasn’t been finalized, but any additional funds obtained beyond the cost of the funeral will be used to provide assistance for his mother at this very difficult time.

Initial details regarding Daniel’s accident - 
https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/peachtree-corners-man-charged-in-fatal-car-accident/article_13363120-04bb-11ea-8293-f7625838e013.html

We are working to find more information on whether donations to charity would be preferred in lieu of flowers and some other small details, but will update accordingly.  Thank you so much for the tremendous outpouring and generosity of all the donors and even those that thought about donating.  Gonzoine would be embarrassed by this attention, and I’m sure he’d be just as humbled by everyone’s kindness for his family.  Thank you again.

Original post:

On Monday, November 11, 2019, we lost our best friend and brother, Daniel (aka Gonzoine aka Min Hyuk), in a fatal car accident.

Daniel had been on his way to his family home to check in on his widowed mother. A short 13 months ago, Daniel and his sister, Susan, had lost their father after a year-long battle with cancer.

Daniel was the cornerstone of his family. He ran his family’s business, managed his family’s finances, and undertook all the unseen and easily forgotten tasks involved with caring for his family. And he did so with his signature laugh and friendliness.

Daniel was kind, thoughtful, and gifted with a generosity of spirit that allowed him to make friends with anyone who came his way. He often had spirited discussions, where he could be both incredibly stubborn but also empathetic to opposing opinions. Daniel was a loyal and supportive friend to all, and we are heart-wrenchingly saddened by this loss.

Daniel was also involved in the ministry of the Seventh-Day Adventist church in many ways.  He was one of the founders of the Adventist campus group at the University of Georgia, where he’d been an undergraduate student.  He was a youth group leader at Marietta Korean SDA Church, and he later became a youth leader and deacon at the Atlanta Korean Church.  He was a founder of the Fellowship of Adventist Young Adults (FAYA), and for decades, he was a youth leader at the East Coast Korean SDA Campmeeting.  Most recently he had been devoting his heart and soul to Teenage Leadership Training at his church. He is survived by his mother, Caroline Kim, his sister, Susan Kim, and his girlfriend, Julie Kang.

Throughout his life, Daniel put so much of himself and his love into every relationship. Now, we hope to give back to his family and show how much he means to all of us in this small way. 

We do not ask for donations lightly.  This gofundme will be for the Kim family to offset the costs of a funeral and other expenses associated with this sudden tragedy.

We love you and miss you, Gonzoine.

Sincerely,
Family and Friends of Daniel Kim

Gofundme requested this information: (which I totally understand since there’s a lot of money involved).
1.  Who you are and your relationship to the family/intended recipient.
My name is Jonathan Kim.  I’ve known Daniel and his family for over 20 years.  I’m the main organizer mostly by happenstance since all the organizers and other friends and family all care for Daniel and his family just as much if not more.  I met Daniel when I transferred to Atlanta Adventist Academy in 1997.  We were two of 3 Koreans at the entire high school.  Granted, it was an Adventist school so it was like 100 people in the whole school.  He had me embrace my nerdy side much to the chagrin of my actual brothers.  As our friendship group numbers increased Gonzoine never changed.  He was always the nice one.  He would always inspire great conversation.  Maybe the devil’s advocate to an extreme, but always in ways you could never really be upset with him about.  I am one of his group of best friends and I will now forever wish I had been better to him.  Susan and his mother have always been an important part of his life and we wish to honor his life by ensuring the transition of a life without Daniel and their father/husband.

2. How the funds will be spent (be as specific as possible)
The funds will be spent more immediately for any and all funeral costs.  The family has begun planning a sudden funeral (and a lot of effort is being expended by multiple members of their church community and family to ensure a life without Daniel) and funerals aren’t cheap even with cremation.  Secondary to all, when all the people who’ve traveled to support their family have gone away, is having any excess being set up to provide stability for his mother based on plans Daniel had made prior to his death.  He knew his mom was not set up in the best living situation, so his long term plan was to provide a solid roof over her head.  She is also currently very distant to where Susan is working and without Daniel’s personal efforts those plans will be very difficult to bring to fruition.  While the goals of the gofundme may not exactly cover all future life expenses, we hope to offset as much as possible.

3. Your withdrawal plan to get the funds from the campaign to the family/intended recipient.
The current withdrawal plan is to provide Susan and her mom direct access to all funds for funeral expenses.