Jay H. Kim November 29, 1937 – July 21, 2025

Jay H. Kim, 87, of South Kent, Connecticut and formerly of Deerfield, Illinois, died peacefully at home on July 21, 2025. Jay and his wife Sunbin had moved to their daughter's residence in South Kent in 2023 after nearly 50 years in the Chicago area, where Jay had been a pioneering lawyer in the Korean-American community.

Jay is survived by his devoted wife of 45 years, Sunbin "Sheila" Yim; two beloved daughters, Sunjung (Bret) of Washington, D.C. and YuJung (Jonathan) of South Kent; and three cherished grandchildren, Cecily, Eiger and Dru. He also leaves behind three sisters, two brothers and their families in southern California and South Korea.

Jay was born Jung Heum Kim on November 29, 1937, the eldest of nine children of Joo Won and Kwi Nyu Kim of Boseong, South Jeolla Province. Jay excelled in school, graduating from Jeonju High School and then, in 1960, from Korea University's College of Law in Seoul. During his compulsory military service, Jay's proficiency in English led to a special assignment working alongside U.S. Forces Korea, an experience that sparked his lifelong interest in cultural exchange.

After emigrating to the U.S. in 1964, Jay persevered through years of hardship before earning his J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1976. He opened his own legal office the following year on Lawrence Avenue, in the heart of what would soon become Chicago's first Koreatown. Jay dedicated his career to serving the fast-growing Korean population of Chicago as immigration boomed in the 1980s and 1990s. He played a key role in developing the city's Albany Park neighborhood into Koreatown and founded or led numerous professional and community organizations, remaining closely involved with the Korean-American Bar Association of Chicago, the Overseas Korean Traders' Association and others throughout his career. Memorably, he was selected to lead the Midwest Support Committee for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which he then attended with his family. Jay was a firm believer in the melting pot and felt it was important for Korean immigrants to both contribute to and be represented in mainstream spaces. He was affiliated with the international law firm Foley & Lardner LLP for several years; served on advisory committees to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Governor's Commission on Election Reform; and was a longtime board member of Lincoln-West Hospital.

Travel was a passion rather than a pastime for Jay, one that he shared with Sunbin and their adult daughters. For two decades before Jay's health declined, the family made it a priority to travel together, visiting everywhere from Machu Picchu to Luxor to Mont Blanc. Jay rode camels in Morocco and hot air balloons in Turkey; sampled caviar in Russia; and floated in the Dead Sea. He kept his curiosity about the world and deep love for his family into the final years of his life, enjoying scenic drives around Litchfield County and delighting in his young grandchildren. His family will remember, love and miss him forever.

A private service will be held on Tuesday with internment at Great Oak Cemetery in Roxbury, Connecticut. A memorial ceremony is being planned for a later date in the Chicagoland area.

To leave an online message for the family, please visit www.munsonloveterefuneralhome.com