In Memory of Shigemune Mori(1983 - 2016)

The Victorious Life of Shigemune Mori

May 3, 1983 – June 12, 2016

Shigemune was born in Saitama, Japan on May 3, 1983, and grew up in Kyoto.

At the young age of twelve, Shigemune went to Korea to study the language and culture. He lived and studied there for the next 8 years. During his middle school years, he attended Sun Hwa Arts School where he majored in piano. He went on to graduate from a Korean public high school and studied theology for two years at Sun Moon University in Korea. Many of the friendships he built in Korea continued into his adulthood. It was in Korea that Shige met Yoshi’s brother, Ely, and also Jeri Tamayo, who later introduced him to Yoshi’s parents.

In December of 2002, Shigemune was blessed in marriage to Yoshi Loew. Yoshi joined Shige in Korea initially, and then in 2007, they both moved to America together. Shigemune quickly mastered English while in America. In 2008 he attended the University of Bridgeport (UB) to study World Religions. The following year the couple welcomed their first daughter, Yumika, into this world. Shigemune graduated soon after.  The two welcomed their second daughter, Julia, in 2011. In 2013 Shige went back to school for his Masters in East Asian and Pacific Rim Studies after being offered close to a full-scholarship at UB. He later took time off to be the primary caretaker of his daughters while Yoshi worked full-time.

During his time in America, Shigemune worked various jobs: driving an eighteen wheeler after getting his CDL license; as a Sales Rep for True World Foods; as a dorm parent and a Korean teacher at the Bridgeport International Academy; and as a translator. He was also recently hired by Weebly to translate their website services from English to Japanese. In the Bridgeport Family Church Shigemune was active in the Local Council. He was also a Matching and Blessing Advisor for young members in our movement, and his couple was eager to be a part of the Pastoral Team when new pastors were installed in Bridgeport this past January.

Shigemune was a very determined person who loved having new experiences. He loved fishing and eventually dreamed of buying a boat for that purpose. He cared deeply about the state of the world and was always wondering where he could be most effective to bring about change. Shigemune also loved to fix cars and do his own repairs. He was interested in saving space and materials. He invested in a good quality scanner, constantly making digital copies of his children’s art work, photos, and his books. As a couple, he and Yoshi shared a love for gardening and the outdoors.

Shigemune was well versed in languages. Not only could he speak Japanese, Korean and English, he also studied Chinese and Arabic for two years while in college. In 2010, he received a scholarship to Study Arabic in Jordan. There he participated in Ramadan and was so inspired he decided to stay an extra two months beyond his allotted scholarship time. He also received a scholarship from the Korean government to go to Korea to study more about the Korean language in 2014.

In the last year of his life, Shigemune was working part time and caring for his daughters full time. He took the girls to and from school, cooked breakfast, and made dinner for the family each night. After school, he took the girls to ice skating, gymnastics and had them practice piano every day. He taught them Japanese and Korean. He really wanted his girls to be well-versed in a particular art. In December of 2015, Shige took his two daughters to Japan for one month to immerse them in the culture, to be with his mother and visit his relatives.

Shigemune was a loving father, devoted husband, filial son, supportive brother, and friend to us all. He will be dearly missed by all of us.

Seonghwa Ceremony

The Seonghwa for Shigemune will take place on Saturday, July 2, at 11 a.m. at the Lester Gee Funeral Home, 1390 Fairfield Ave, Bridgeport, CT.

The Ghihwan, or time of visiting by friends and family, will be held at the funeral home on the evening of Friday, July 1, from 7 to 9 p.m.

The Won Jeon Ceremony will be at the Park Cemetery in Bridgeport, and will be followed by a potluck lunch reception at Carstensen Hall, on the University of Bridgeport campus, 174 University Ave in Bridgeport.

Flowers and Donations

We welcome flower arrangements to be sent to the Lester Gee Funeral Home.

There will be a basket at the funeral home for donations to support the family. Donations can also be made through the Youcaring site: https://www.youcaring.com/yoshi-mori-and-family-586277 or sent directly to Yoshi Mori at 285 Lafayette Street, Apartment 101, Bridgeport, CT 06604.