Michelle Loeffler

Michelle Choo Loeffler, age 70 of Cottage Grove, Minnesota died April 2, 2026 at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, MN. She was removed from life support after a severe brain injury as the result of a fall at her home.

She was surrounded by her family. Those who loved her know that this brave and spirited daughter of Korea has finally found the peace that eluded her most of her life.

Hae Kyung Choo walked a thorny path. Sharp, independent and surpassingly beautiful, she overcame trauma, abuse and heartache to become an electrical engineer who played an essential role as a gatekeeper of the public well-being.

As a girl in South Korea, she painted and sketched and dreamt of becoming a professor of art. But her family uprooted her to the United States. She would later learn that her English tutor in Korea, a young man from a good family, had called on her mother to request Michelle’s hand in marriage. No, said her mother. She was going overseas.

She never saw the boy again.

The Choo family emigrated in 1974 and settled in Chicago. Michelle, 17, struggled with the English language, tried to make new friends and find her footing.

She married and moved to North Carolina, Virginia and Chicago. She raised her two daughters, Sarah and Laura Evans, in the tradition of the Asian tiger mother, imposing a strict regime of curfews and homework. Both daughters graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL

Michelle was in her 50s when she moved to Pittsburgh, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in computer aided design at Point Park University in Pittsburgh.

“She fought hard to accomplish her goals,” her daughter, Sarah Evans, an attorney in Lincoln, Maine, said, “raising two daughters and becoming an engineer while working full time and going back to school.”

In Pittsburgh, Michelle worked as a design assurance engineer for Medrad, a company that manufactured contrast injectors. The injectors, or syringes, were used in X-Rays, CT scans and MRIs.

Sharon Standish, friend and co-worker, remembers a woman who worked long hours and held herself to a very high standard.

“Every design engineer decision is made with the safety, health and well-being and life of the patient in mind,” Standish said, “ensuring the performance and function of the hardware so the doctors can make the best diagnosis possible. Michelle did that every day.”

Donald M. Keller, professor of electrical engineering at Point Park University, remembers a determined young woman who would design circuit boards by day, attend class in the evening, and then go back to work before going home to grab a few hours of sleep before it all started again.

“She was occasionally in a bad state,” Keller said. “I think she lacked some confidence that her life could be better professionally. I think it was in her personality to get the job done and help other people.”

She later joined TUV-SUD America as a medical device senior lead auditor. She traveled to medtech companies here and abroad, conducting on-site inspections of respirators, infusion pumps, heart monitors and diagnostic software.

“How many millions of people around the world use those and count on using them and having them properly made and effective?” Keller said. “It keeps people alive. She made sure they made it properly. She will be very greatly missed.”

Michelle was the beloved wife and running partner of William Loeffler, who she met when she moved to Pittsburgh. They ran the Boston Marathon together in 2009, as well as marathons in Pittsburgh and Richmond, Va. They were married on July 10, 2010.

William introduced her to his running club, where she quickly became a regular and a favorite at the group’s Tuesday night workouts. Intensely competitive, she quickly gained a reputation as a “one-stepper,” constantly striving to stay ahead of the pack. These good people gave her some of the happiest times of her life.

“She was a really dynamic lady, such an accomplished, capable person,” runner and friend Jim Moyer said.

Possessed of the formidable Korean work ethic – and the notorious Korean temper - Michelle carried a hidden burden of sadness and pain. She suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, (PTSD) due, in part, to being abused by a conniving boyfriend as a teenager in Korea. She was plagued by screaming night terrors. She battled severe depression. During her first marriage, she was hospitalized after attempting to take her own life.

“She always tried to fight herself through it,” her brother, Ilha Choo, said. “She would get into depression. I don’t think she ever whined. She just would deal with it. That was hard. She was fighting herself. She worked through pain. “

Michelle was no mere survivor, however. She inherited the bravery and resilience of her father, Koo Ki Choo. On the eve of the Korean War, when communist forces had sealed off the north, he risked his life to double back across the 38th parallel to rescue his mother and his siblings. A refugee, he was given shelter by a landowner in the coastal city of Busan. The man had a daughter, Hyung Won Kim, who later became his wife.

“I think part of her drive came from wanting to make her dad proud,” Sarah Evans said.

Michelle also enjoyed cooking, traveling and babysitting Sela, the dog owned by her daughter Laura. She toured France, Germany, Italy, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Two years ago, she returned to her birthplace of Seoul, South Korea, with Laura and William.

She is survived by her husband, William Loeffler III; Sarah Evans (Daniel Hall ) and grandchildren Abigail, Gabriel, Eliana, Simon, Nathaniel and Miriel of Lincoln, Maine; Laura Evans (Gerald Hurd) of Olmsted Township, Ohio; brother Ilha Choo (Helen) and nephew, Aaron, of Leonardtown, MD and sister Mia Rhee (Dan) and nephews Jon and Kat of Mt. Prospect, Ill.

Memorial arrangements are incomplete. A funeral mass is planned for this summer in Pittsburgh.