Technological Foundation Keeps Man's Memory Alive
James Kim had a love of technology and family.
Jan. 3, 2008 — -- In December 2006 James Kim, his wife, Kati, and their two young daughters became trapped in their car on a remote snow-covered road in the Oregon mountains. For the next seven days, they struggled to live and when hope seemed dim, James ventured off into the frigid wilderness for help.
Meanwhile, massive searches had already begun and soon recovered Kati and Penelope, who was then 4, and Sabine, just 7 months old, safely. The nation held its collective breath in the hopes the hero father, too, would return home safely. However, James, 35, did not survive.
Now, Kati has tried to keep his memory alive in a special way by establishing the James Kim Technology Foundation.
"I think she's focused on the positives in her life — that she's incredibly grateful to have her daughters and her family around her," said family friend Kate Kotler. "Because of that, she's tried to focus her energy to find an outlet to make an impact in James' honor."
The goal of the foundation is to provide children throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with the best possible technological resources in the classroom, including digital cameras, computers and whatever may come next. It also combines two of James Kim's biggest loves.
"He had two clear passions: one was technology; one was his family and all children," said Kim McCoy Wade, at the James Kim Technology Foundation.
Kim was a familiar face in the community and online, where he was known as a funny, warm man who was a devoted husband and father.
Technology fans watched him on the popular site CNET, where he tested and reported on the newest gadgets.
"He was a huge technology junkie," said family friend Thanh Cao. "His daughter at age 3 had an Mp3 player. He always wanted to keep technology in children's lives, and this is a really great way to represent who he was."
Kati Kim wanted to keep that passion alive in her children, but when she was looking at schools for her oldest daughter, she was surprised that in a city so driven by the technology industry, there was a lack of technology in the schools.
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