Chun Cha Haggquist

In Loving Memory of Chun Cha "Chris" Haggquist

October 29, 1944 – June 29, 2026

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Her quiet strength, generous heart, gentle humor, and unwavering love touched everyone fortunate enough to know her.

It is with profound love and sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend, Chun Cha "Chris" Haggquist, who passed away peacefully on June 29, 2026, at the age of 81.

Chris was born in Pyongyang, North Korea, on October 29, 1944, and lived a life defined by resilience, strength, compassion, generosity, and an unwavering devotion to her family. During the Korean War, while still a young child, her family was forced to flee to South Korea, where she grew up amid the hardships of displacement—the loss of her homeland, economic struggle, and the challenge of building a new life with limited opportunities.

At the age of eighteen, while working at the Memory Store in Sanyuri, South Korea, near the military base at Munsan on the banks of the Imjin River, she met a young American soldier serving with the 1st Cavalry Division. Gregory Haggquist was a humble young man from Charlestown, Massachusetts, who had grown up along the banks of another great river—the Charles River. From that moment on, two lives, shaped by very different worlds, began flowing together. What they possessed in material things was modest, but they shared an abiding faith in one another and a willingness to work hard for a better future. Their partnership would carry them through more than sixty years of marriage, raising a family, and building a life rich in love, friendship, and adventure.

Their journey to America began in Monterey, California, where Chris first arrived in 1966. While Gregory attended the Defense Language Institute, Chris immediately went to work, first helping at a small motel on Cass Street owned by the Kim family, who generously welcomed and supported her during those challenging early years. She later worked at a cannery on Cannery Row alongside many other immigrant women, often walking home to the family's small apartment on Alice Street in New Monterey after long days of work.

In June 1967, Chris and Gregory welcomed their daughter, Linda, at Fort Ord. Soon afterward, Gregory's military service took the family to Okinawa before returning to the United States. Along the way, Chris earned her United States citizenship, traveling by bus to San Francisco to take her examination while balancing work, motherhood, and the uncertainties of military life. She never forgot the kindness shown to her by families like the Kims, whose generosity helped her establish a new life in America.

As Gregory completed his military service and later attended college on the GI Bill, Chris quietly became the foundation of the family. She worked nights at Bank of America while caring for her children during the day, always placing her family's needs before her own. In 1972, they welcomed their son, Larry, completing the family that remained the center of her world. Like so many immigrant mothers of her generation, she believed deeply in the value of hard work, education, and sacrifice, giving her children opportunities she herself had never known.

As the years passed, Chris and Gregory built a wonderful life together in South Pasadena, Palos Verdes, and Manhattan Beach, surrounding themselves with lifelong friends and creating warm, welcoming homes wherever they lived. One of Chris's greatest joys was golf. As a proud member of Virginia Country Club, she treasured countless rounds with Gregory and dear friends at VCC, finding happiness in the game's challenges, its friendships, and the beautiful places it took her. Whether enjoying a sunny afternoon on the course, traveling with family, or simply gathering around the table with those she loved, Chris found joy in life's simple blessings.

Above all else, Chris was devoted to her family. She was endlessly proud of Linda and Larry, delighted in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and found her greatest fulfillment in caring for others. Her quiet strength, generous heart, gentle humor, and unwavering love touched everyone fortunate enough to know her.

Looking back, it seems especially fitting that Monterey became both the beginning and the end of Chris's American journey. The address on her earliest citizenship records was on Cass Street, and decades later she spent her final months just next door at Evergreen Memory Care, where she was lovingly cared for as she lived with dementia. There is even an Imjin Road that runs through the former Fort Ord, named for the very river near which Chris and Gregory first met in Korea. What began beside the Imjin River eventually came full circle on California's Monterey Peninsula—a quiet reminder that some journeys, like some rivers, always find their way home.

Chris is survived by her devoted husband of more than sixty years, Gregory Haggquist; her daughter, Linda; her son, Larry; her grandchildren; her great-grandchildren; her siblings; and many extended family members and cherished friends, all of whom will forever carry her love and example in their hearts.

A memorial service celebrating Chris's life will be held at the Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California on August 12th, 2026 at 1:15pm.