Henry Paeng

On January 14, 1929, in a small coastal village in what is now North Korea, a young couple welcomed their firstborn into the world. Yoon Sik Paeng was the oldest of five children. He had one brother and three sisters. Two of his sisters, Yoon Ja and Yoon Bok are here with us today. Yoon Sik added Henry to his name later in life.

When Henry was 17, his parents decided that they needed to leave the communist-controlled part of the Korean peninsula and migrate to the US-controlled area of Korea, now South Korea. Henry’s parents feared that he would be conscripted into the military. 

Once in the area of Seoul, South Korea, Henry worked for the US Army – where he learned English – until the end of the Korean War. After the war, Henry taught English and music at a small rural school.

In 1964, Henry met the love of his life, Hannah when a mutual friend introduced them. They celebrated their 57th anniversary earlier this year, in April. After their wedding, Henry and Hannah relocated to the remote countryside to live as free as possible from any restrictions and governmental control, but living independently in the country meant that Henry and Hannah had no source of income. At that time, even farming required government approval, so in 1965, Henry and Hannah filed their application, and not only received permission to farm but also a grant from the government which paid for the land, a house, tools and food for a year. In addition to farming, Henry established a SDA church while living in the countryside.

Henry and Hannah welcomed their first child, Susan, in 1965, and Andrew was born two years later.

After living in the country for a few years, in 1977, Henry and Hannah immigrated to South America in the country of Paraguay. Henry’s family had come to the US by this time. Henry’s family was afraid that North Korea would invade South Korea again. Henry’s sister had immigrated to Brazil a few months previous and before she left, she applied for Henry and Hannah to go to Paraguay. When Henry and Hannah went to check on the status of the visa, they were told that the visa was going to expire in 14 days! They sold their land and house and left for South America.

No one in the family knew a single word of Spanish and they had limited skills to earn a living, but ended up with a little clothing store. In Paraguay, the only SDA church was a Japanese church. While attending, Henry started speaking Japanese, a language he had learned as a child. Eventually, Henry established a Korean SDA church nearby since there were many Koreans in the area but no Korean language church.

In 1983 Henry and Hannah immigrated to California, where his immediate family lived. They lived there for several years before relocating to this part of the US, living in Missouri, North Carolina, Georgia and now, most recently, here in Benton.

Henry loved to work outdoors. When he and Hannah moved to Benton, they planted a “retirement”-size garden, just a quarter of an acre. Henry also built a large greenhouse on their property and planted fruit trees. Henry kept expanding the garden little by little, and even spent considerable effort trying to chip away at a large boulder that prevented further expansion.

When not working outside, Henry occupied himself with study of the Bible, often highlighting, underlining and re-highlighting passages. He loved pens, and kept a large collection of pens, highlighters and colored pencils on his desk. Henry also loved music and often played the piano and harmonica. While living in Georgia, he was part of a church choir, and sang often.

On October 7, Henry received new hearing aids that significantly improved his hearing. He was thrilled with this new ability. On October 8, he and Hannah had a morning devotional together - which they did faithfully everyday – and Henry remarked on how well he could hear.

After worship, Henry and Hannah sat down for breakfast. After his first bite, Henry suffered a massive stroke and slipped peacefully into sleep in Jesus.

He was preceded in death by his father, Yong Seop Paeng; mother, Seong Nyeo Lee Paeng; brother, Yoon Geun Paeng; and sister, Yoon Deuk.

Left to cherish the many memories include his daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Doug Pratt; son and daughter-in-law, Andrew and Lauren Paeng; one granddaughter, Erika Jin Sol Pratt.

A Celebration of Life service will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at Benton Seventh-day Adventist Church. Interment will follow at the church cemetery.

Family and friends will gather from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, prior to the service at the church.

Expressions of sympathy may be shared with the family at www.HigginsFuneral.com.

Arrangements are entrusted to Higgins Funeral Home of Benton.