In Memory of James Stevens Mudgett
Spouse: Seungyeon Mudgett
Children: Sunhee, Hanhee, Sanghoon, Oojin, Heejin
Grandchildren: Ahjin, Sunah, Kayla, and Anaya
DOB: September 13, 1944
Blessing Date: February 21, 1977
Ascension:
Seonghwa Ceremony: October 30, 5:00 pm Eastern Time in Korea. See Zoom link below.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82510141849?pwd=ZHNUVlBVQWZwS214RER2UFFTdm5XZz09
GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/847b5f5bf
James "Steve" Mudgett was born in Evanston, Illinois, on September 13, 1944, as the second son of Jesse Stevens and Helen Lydia Mudgett (neé Mitchell). He grew up in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
Steve attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. At the age of 19, while at church one day, he heard the voice of Jesus telling him that "I came to get married," thus beginning his search for deeper truth. He decided to join the Peace Corps and en route to his service assignment in the Marshall Islands, stopped by San Francisco, California. Here, in 1968, he met Mrs. Onni Durst at a local library and immediately joined the Unification Church.
He worked at the San Francisco church until being transferred to Belvedere Training Center in Tarrytown, New York. In 1974, while True Parents were conducting their 50-city tour of the United States, Steve worked on the 3-part Day of Hope in Review books under Dr. David S.C. Kim. On February 21, 1977, Steve was Blessed to Seungyeon Mudgett, born Myung Soon Lee, at the New Yorker Hotel as part of the 74 Couples.
Then in 1978, Steve went back to California to become the manager of Golden Gate Seafood, a fish company. It was in the San Francisco Bay Area that he and his wife welcomed and raised their five children until his mission changed in 1996 by becoming the National Messiah to the Commonwealth of Dominica in the
West Indies. The family moved to Puerto Rico in 1997, which became the base for Steve's work in the Caribbean.
After a number of years in the Caribbean, Steve, his wife and youngest daughter moved back to California for a short time before moving again in 2006, this time to Seorak, South Korea, where Steve taught English to local second-generation children for 15 years.
Steve loved long walks in the countryside and simply reveling in the beauty of nature. He loved music, particularly Gershwin and the piano performances of Vladimir Horowitz. And he loved to read and learn—news, history, novels—though he once noted he felt most fulfilled when reading Hoon Dok materials. But most of all, he loved Heavenly Parent, True Parents, his family, and friends. He strove to live each day with purpose and devotion, sincerity and love.
He is survived by his older brother, his beloved wife, and their five children and four granddaughters (Ahjin, Sunah, Kayla, and Anaya)
