Spa shooting victim is recalled as fun, selfless
Native of South Korea had moved to Georgia
PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. — While a pastor spoke during Yong Ae Yue’s funeral Friday, a sunbeam came through the window behind him and shone upon Yue’s two sons, a sure sign their mother was watching, one of them said.
As his mother’s body lay before him in a casket draped with pink flowers, Elliott Peterson pointed to a large photo of her on display and asked the friends and family gathered in a funeral home in Peachtree Corners to remember her like that — a big grin on her face and two fingers on each hand extended in a “V.”
Yue was one of eight people fatally shot March 16 in attacks on massage businesses in Atlanta and nearby Cherokee County.
The others are also being grieved by friends, family and their communities.
Suncha Kim, 69, volunteered for charities. Soon Chung Park, a former dancer, remained youthful and fit at age 74. Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49, was an entrepreneur who owned Youngs Asian Massage and other businesses. Daoyou Feng, 44, was one of her employees. Delaina Yaun, 33, was a new mother. Paul Michels, 54, installed security systems. Hyun Jung Grant, 51, loved music and worked at Gold Spa to support two sons.
Robert Aaron Long, 21, is charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault.
Four of the women slain were of Korean descent, and leaders of the Korean American community planned a “worldwide vigil” for the shooting victims Friday night. The event is to be held at the Korean American Association of Greater Atlanta in Norcross and will be livestreamed.
Yue, 63, was born in South Korea and immigrated to the U.S. in 1979 with her then-husband, Mac Peterson. He was in the Army and they moved to the Columbus area, near Fort Benning. Their older son, Elliott, was born in South Korea, while their younger son, Robert, was born after they moved to Georgia, said attorney Bjay Pak, who is representing Yue’s sons.
The couple divorced some time after their second son’s birth and
Yue made the tough decision for her boys to live with their father, believing that would give them a better chance to succeed, but she remained a loving presence in their lives, Pak said.
Elliott Peterson said his mother wasn’t very outwardly affectionate but showed her love through food.
His daughter, Cassidy, remembered bragging to her friends about her grandmother’s culture and cooking.
“Her skill wasn’t what made her food so good,” Cassidy Peterson said. “It was the love she put into it.”