(Published 7.17.2021.2 on the Koh Family Google Group on the occasion of David’s 32nd birthday. Revised 7.25.2021.)

Thirty-two years ago, a boy was born in Boston with the worst meconium aspiration that anyone had ever seen. His Apgar scores were 1 and 4. He was intubated and sent to the 7 North NICU (neonatal ICU) at Boston Childrens’ Hospital. His parents were asked to give consent for ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) life support if needed. (He did not need it, but his father did many years later.) After one day he was fighting to be extubated, and was given sedation and muscle relaxation so that he could tolerate the breathing tube, to rest his lungs for one more day. At the age of two days he was extubated.

At the age of four days he got the name David, which means beloved. He was also named Francis after his late maternal grandfather and a close uncle. Shortly thereafter his paternal grandfather Kwang Lim gave him the name Won-kyoung. His name became David Francis Won-kyoung Koh. At the age of one week he came home.

Two months later, his grandfather Kwang Lim died.

When he was 21 months old he was joined by a younger brother Jonathan. They became happy playmates and friendly rivals. As he grew up, David displayed a vivid curiosity and intense playfulness. He stayed up all night building a marble run out of paper and string. He became an athlete. He and his dad drove four hours from Maine during a vacation so that he could play in his town’s all-star baseball game. It was rained out. He became a prodigious soccer player, scoring ten goals per 30-minute game at the YMCA until his dad gently suggested to him that he could also pass the ball to his teammates. He stopped shooting on goal for the remainder of his long successful soccer career. 

He became an ultimate frisbee player and taught his dad and brother how to throw. He and his dad flew to Minnesota days after the bridge collapse so that he could play in the national tournament. He learned to play squash and became the captain of his high school team.

He went to MIT and met the love of his life. Their lives became as one, and immediately after graduation they married. He sang a hilarious solo with his college a capella group which delighted the crowd at the Kresge center and made his parents beam with pride.

He worked at a computer dating company in New York City and became the director of programming. He did well with the company’s stock options, and later started a college fund for his daughter. He was appointed by Obama to a small digital task force, and helped over 200,000 people to become American citizens. He became CTO of a division of Medicare.

He and his wife moved to Alabama where she accepted a tenure-track position in chemical engineering. They bought a house and built a new home, and he started his own company. He named it Sabaki, after a powerful and flexible move in Go. They had a child, and named her Ava Athena.

Six months ago, he lost his beloved mother to cancer.

David has met the challenges of life with a rare grace. He has become a resourceful and thoughtful young man who is wise beyond his years. He and his wife have become a formidable team, and together with Ava (and their two cats Mica and Niko) have become a strong and loving family.

As parents, who could ASK for more?

Happy birthday, David Francis Won-kyoung. You have brought us joy for thirty-two years.

We look forward to many more.

We love you.

Dad and Mom