Sung Sig Woo

Sung Sig Woo grew up in North Korea, one of five children born to Shin Ki Woo and Soo Hyun Yoon. In 1946, as communism spread and unrest broke out, Sung Sig (then 17) fled with his parents and siblings to South Korea and persevered to re-established themselves in Seoul, South Korea after the war ended.

On April 12, 1955, Sung Sig immigrated to Portland, Oregon and attended first Lewis & Clark College, then the University of Oregon, to study architecture. During that time, he met Bernetta Gamble through mutual friends. They were married in 1958 and settled down in Portland. After the birth of their first daughter, Catherine Marie, on April 12, 1959, they moved to San Jose, California in 1961, and then to Los Angeles in 1963. Their second daughter, Susan Ann, was born on March 8, 1964. After moving to Burbank in 1966, their youngest daughter, Jennifer Anne was born on November 1, 1967.

As a husband and father, Sung Sig applied his entrepreneurial vision and artistic / technical talents to a photo studio. He opened Angeles Photo on Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles. His studio was one of the first Korean businesses established in what is now Koreatown. He assisted many others transitioning from Korea to the L.A. area. As his business grew, he bought a building, also on Olympic Boulevard, and relocated his photo studio in 1976. He took in several business tenants and opened the first contract station post office in the neighborhood. Eventually, Sig sold the photo studio and focused on his post office which soon became the second largest contract station, by volume, in the Los Angeles area. He further expanded his business investments by acquiring commercial real estate in Koreatown and elsewhere in Southern California.

By the mid-1970's, both of Sig's parents had relocated to the U.S. and lived next door to the family home in Burbank. For several decades, Sig and (especially) Bernie hosted many large, happy gatherings in their Burbank home for their extended family and countless friends. Sig's mother passed away in 1996, and his father passed away in 2000.

Sig was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1999, and was fortunate to receive a liver transplant on April 12, 2000. This gift allowed him more than a decade of quality life during which he would continue to enjoy his nine grandchildren: Daniel, Paul, Jonathan, Molly, Michael, David, James, Annie, and Will. In 2003, Sig and Bernie moved to their current home in Stevenson Ranch, California.

Sung Sig Woo peacefully passed from this life, surrounded by his loved ones, on Saturday, August 11, 2012.