Yong Ae Yue: cooking and karaoke lover who had only recently returned to work

Friends and family of Yong Ae Yue remembered the Seoul, South Korea, native’s love of cooking and karaoke while paying tribute to her.

An obituary for Yue, who was killed in Atlanta last week, said her most precious moments were the ones “she spent with her children and grandchildren, nurturing them to be the young men and women they are today”. The Norcross resident was a mother of two sons and a Buddhist.

In a GoFundMe, Yue’s son Robert Peterson said his mother “fed all my friends Korean food, took them to Korean karaoke, and did no harm to anyone”. “Losing my mother is one of the hardest things I have ever experienced and all because of hate,” he continued.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Yue, who moved to America in the 1980s after beginning a relationship with her sons’ father, an American soldier, had recently returned to work after being laid off earlier in the pandemic.

Her sons, in a statement reportedly provided by a family lawyer, said they were “devastated by the loss of our beloved mother, and words cannot adequately describe our grief”.

“My mom, if she was here, her heart would go out to the families as well,” her son Elliott Peterson said.

Alijah Peterson, who identified himself as Yue’s grandson in a Facebook post, wrote: “You made me such a better person, things I thought that weren’t wrong you’ve corrected in my best interest. Someone who saw my mistakes and always let me know, that takes a true friend. I love you forever and you didn’t deserve this.

“Watch over and protect me grandma.”