Sue C. Cosgrove

Cosgrove, Sue C.
Passed away 24 February 2006. Born Cho Sook Hyung (Sue) in Korean in 1923, she was the second child of six. Her father, Dr. Cho Pyong Ok, was a prominent Korean nationalist leader opposed to the Japanese occupation of Korea at the time. Her mother was a devoted parent and wife who raised the children through her husband's extended periods of imprisonment for anti-Japanese activities. In her university years, she excelled in speed skating and languages. Many of her friends from university days would remain her friends and even relocate to California later in life where they were reunited. Sue met her husband, Charles Lehr Cosgrove, in 1954 after the end of the Korean War and they married shortly thereafter. Their two children, Elizabeth M. and Charles H., were both born in Seoul where Charlie worked for the US government in support of the reconstruction effort in the Korean ports and logistics systems. Subsequent job assignments for the US government took the family to Nigeria, Tanzania and Thailand until 1973, when Charlie retired from government service. The family settled in Southern California. Sue began her working life in California at the age of 51, starting at Bullocks, Nordstroms and then at Macy's where she achieved much success in sales and became sales manager for a period of time at Bullocks. She worked in several store locations in Southern California and was widely known in her department for reaching out to customers and maintaining relationships with customers and colleagues, some of whom became lifelong friends. In her post-working life, she enjoyed traveling to visit with her two children in Europe and Asia and particularly her three grandchildren, Megan, Lindsey and Nicholas. She was widowed in 2002. In addition to her children, grandchildren and nephews and nieces, she is survived by her younger brother Cho Soon Hyung, a retired Congressman in South Korea. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her as a person who deeply believed in the importance of helping others, both inside and outside the family circle, and in the world of possibilities even in the face of personal adversity. Funeral services will be Tuesday, February 28, 2006, 11:00 a.m. at Green Hills Mortuary Chapel, Rancho Palos Verdes (310-831-0311).