LOWELL, Mass. – Gil-Soo Choi of Lowell, Mass., died at Lowell General Hospital on Dec. 3, 2025.

He was born in Hiroshima, Japan, on Oct. 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, where they lived for almost 40 years.

After a short stint in construction, Gil-Soo worked for L.L.Bean in Freeport, 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, Mass., 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 of Lowell, Mass.; daughters Son-Hyea (Scott) Storgaard of Lady Lake, Fla., Yun-Son Choi (John Cobb) of Gray, Yun-Ju Choi of Lowell, Mass., and Yun-Suk (Brian) Byrne of Southington, Conn.; grandchildren, Matthew (Jessica) Storgaard of Winchendon, Mass., Joshua Storgaard of Proctor, Vt., Sarah Storgaard of Madison, Wis., Alexander Cobb of Braintree, Mass., Nicole Cobb of Gray, J. Nolan Byrne of Southington, Conn, Wyatt Byrne of Southington, Conn., and Evan Byrne of Southington, Conn.; great-grandchild, Lena Marie Choi Storgaard of Winchendon, Mass., who was born just two days prior to Gil’s passing; brother, In-Soo Choi of 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 http://www.odonnellfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements by the O’Donnell Funeral Home – Lowell, Mass., 978-458-8768.

Those wishing may make contributions in his memory to

Coalition For A Better Acre

517 Moody St., 3rd Floor

Lowell, MA 01854