Meeja H Cho of Staten Island, NY, has passed away, leaving behind a family and community who loved her dearly.
What follows is a brief look at the life her family wishes to share.
Meeja spent her working life as ['piano teacher'] — and was, by all accounts, loved by those who knew her best.
A life is built quietly, day by day.
Ms. Meeja Cho, 84, passed away peacefully on April 24, 2026 after a long valiant battle with dementia. She was born in Incheon, South Korea on January 17, 1942, to Mr. Woon Joun Cho, an Elementary School Principal and Mrs. Bock Soo Choi, a Homemaker. She was the fourth eldest amongst six siblings.
She graduated from the Seoul National University College of Music and was a virtuoso pianist. She married Dr. Kang Yu, a Psychiatrist, that also graduated from the same prestigious University, and they immigrated to Brooklyn, NY in 1968. She was later divorced and a single parent with a dependent child to support, so she began her long and successful career as a piano teacher. Initially living in a small one bedroom apartment in Midwood Brooklyn, with no room for a Grand or a Baby Grand Piano, Ms. Cho drove to her Students' houses to provide Piano instruction. She drove to as far as Long Island, Queens and Staten Island every week to provide instruction for nearly a decade. She saved up enough money to purchase her first Co-Op in Homecrest, Brooklyn and turned it into a residence/Piano Studio. She finally settled down in New Springville, Staten Island, where she purchased a Town House and converted the basement into her office/piano studio where she taught her students for the next decade.
She is survived by her devoted son, Joseph Yu, an FDNY-EMS Lieutenant/Paramedic. She is also survived by her sisters, In-Hui Park, Haeng-Ja Han and Whaja Park. She is predeceased by her parents, Woon-joon Cho and Bock-soo Choi as well as her brother Dong-hui Cho.
Meeja will be missed and forever remembered as a kind, caring Mother and a loving aunt to her many nieces and nephews who were very fond of her. A funeral service will be held on May 10, 2026 at John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals, Inc. 28 Eltingville Blvd, Staten Island, New York.
The family will receive friends from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM on Sunday, May 10, 2026, at John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals, Inc., 28 Eltingville Blvd, Staten Island, New York.
