
A father and son reunited, forever.
One day, brimming with excitement, he called his parents in Germany, and Karl had to tell him to slow down so he could understand what he was saying.
Sebastian had caught a bluefish near Long Island. For all his scientific and medical accomplishments, Sebastian was especially proud of reeling in that bluefish, with the late afternoon sun shimmering off the Boston skyline in the distance. He never felt more alive, he told his parents.
The day after that phone call, on Sept. 19, 2008, Sebastian collapsed from a cardiac event while working out on a treadmill at Mass General and died. He was 32.
Advertisement
Karl and Man-Hee were devastated. Sebastian was their only child. He worked to save lives, to ease suffering, to help others, and the thought of him dying so young, with so much more to give, left them bereft.
Karl and Man-Hee flew to Boston and took a boat into the harbor, to spread Sebastian's ashes in the place he loved so well, the place that brought him peace, the place where he caught that bluefish. They dutifully recorded the latitude and longitude where Sebastian's ashes hit the water.
Advertisement
And every year since, Karl and Man-Hee returned to Boston to mark the anniversary of Sebastian's passing. They boarded the Hingham ferry at Long Wharf and when it passed the spot where Sebastian's ashes were spread, they dropped flowers into the water. The ferry crew, who became friendly with them over the years, made sure to ring a slow, mournful bell as Karl and Man-Hee dropped the flowers. It was a ritual both bitter and sweet — flowers for an only son.
Karl and Man-Hee made a pact, that when they died, they would join Sebastian in the waters of Boston Harbor.
Three months ago, Karl, 79, and Man-Hee, 73, went for their regular morning swim near their home in Germany. Everything seemed fine, Man-Hee recalled. That afternoon, without warning, Karl collapsed. It was his heart.
'He didn't suffer,' Man-Hee told me.
After Karl died, Man-Hee began planning the trip back to Boston, to reunite Karl and Sebastian in the waters of Boston Harbor. June 15 was the day she chose. Not only was it Father's Day, it was Karl's and Man-Hee's 52nd wedding anniversary.
But she had to settle for Friday, the 13th, as that was the only day she could charter a boat. That boat, Timeless, sailed out of Constitution Marina in Charlestown on that afternoon.
According to Lynn Shah, Karl's and Man-Hee's niece, who on the boat, a dozen family members accompanied Man-Hee during the voyage. Man-Hee carried Karl's ashes in a black urn. 'America, The Beautiful' played over the boat's sound system.
Shah said the boat's captain, Brad White, welcomed the family onboard, noting something that John F. Kennedy said about why so many feel connected to the ocean.
Advertisement
'We are tied to the ocean,' he told the group, 'and when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came.'
There was music, lots of music. Man-Hee had compiled a playlist of one hour and 43 minutes of Karl's and Sebastian's favorite songs with great care. They played 'The Last Waltz,' by Engelbert Humperdinck, because that was the song Karl and Man-Hee loved to dance to with each other. They played 'Massachusetts' by the Bee Gees, and 'Golden Heart' by Mark Knopfler, because Sebastian loved that song.
As they floated by one of the harbor islands that the family calls Sebastian's Island, Shah said, the entire family sang 'Sweet Caroline,' changing the chorus to 'Sweet Sebastian.'
When they got to the spot, the place where Sebastian's ashes were spread 17 years ago, Man-Hee spread Karl's ashes to the strains of Andrea Bocelli's 'Time to Say Goodbye.'
The black tie that Karl wore to his son's memorial service was wrapped around a bouquet of roses and messages of affection from his family that followed his ashes into the water.
'Oh Lord,' the captain said, according to his prepared remarks, 'we commend the soul of Karl as we commit his remains to the deep while giving him over to your continuing care for his resurrection to true eternal life, please provide a peaceful place for his eternal rest.'
Man-Hee's sister-in-law, Hana Kim St. Pierre, is a pastor, and she offered prayers and Bible verses in their native Korean.
Lynn Shah was there with her husband and their children, Maren and Khelan. Four-year-old Khelan's middle name is Sebastian.
Advertisement
She found it all incredibly moving, with competing emotions.
'There was such a mixture of tears and laughter,' she said.
That mixture of joy and sadness felt familiar, 'much like life itself,' she said.
After returning to port, the family retired to The Helmand, the Afghani restaurant in Cambridge, raising glasses, laughing, crying, and taking great comfort knowing that a father and son, men they loved, were finally reunited.
Man-Hee plans to return to Boston in June and September every year, to take the Hingham ferry out into the harbor and drop flowers at the spot where her husband's and son's souls rest, waiting for her.
'It is the reunification of a father and a son,' she said. 'It makes me feel at peace. And I think about joining them some day. That brings me peace, too. On that day, we will be back together, a family, forever.'
Kevin Cullen is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Air traffic control blamed for near-collision between B-52 bomber and passenger plane
The aircrafts almost collided over the North Dakota skies Recently, a pilot performed a series of last-second maneuvers to avoid hitting a B-52 bomber. The terrifying moment was captured on video by Josh Kadrmas from the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. Kadrmas told NBC News he was in the crowd for opening day of the fair, waiting for the scheduled B-52 flyover, when he pointed his phone toward the sky. 'We could see the exhaust from the B-52 far to the east, so I started recording as it was announced to the crowd the B-52 was going to fly over the grandstand." By chance, Kadrmas filmed Delta Flight 3788, operated by SkyWest, as it shared airspace with the military aircraft. 'I didn't think this would be a disaster at the time as the smaller plane was difficult to see from the stands," he explained to NBC. A passenger filmed the aftermath Passenger, Monica Green (@monicagreenofficial) captured the aftermath on the SkyWest flight in a video uploaded to TikTok. In the video, the pilot is heard apologizing to passengers, saying: "Given his speed ... I don't know how fast they were going, but they were a lot faster than us. I felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind it. So sorry about the aggressive maneuver; it caught me by surprise. This is not normal at all. I don't know why they didn't give us a heads up, because the Air Force base does have radar ... long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it and thank you for understanding. Not a not a fun day at work." The Air Force blamed air traffic control At the time, there was no information available regarding how such a dangerous situation had occurred. The Air Force has since placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of air traffic controllers. A statement released by Minot Air Force Base says: 'The flyover was planned in advance and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. This included the FAA's local Flight Standards District Office, Minot International Airport air traffic control personnel, and Minot Approach Control (RAPCON). The following paragraph expands to say that the B-52 crew communicated the flyover plan to RAPCON and Minot International Airport's air traffic control tower before departure. The statement says the Minot Approach directed the B-52 crew at 7:43 p.m. to contact Minot International Airport's air traffic control. When they did so, the tower instructed the aircraft to continue 2 miles westbound after the flyover. The tower did not inform the B-52 pilots that there was an inbound commercial plane in the vicinity. The FAA is investigating The statement concludes by saying: 'The B-52 crossed the fairgrounds show center at 7:50 p.m. and proceeded west as directed to clear Minot International Tower's airspace before returning to Minot AFB.' According to the statement, the FAA is investigating the incident.


Bloomberg
15 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Lumon Was a Lemon for Pointed Players
I'm your Quizmaster, Aimee Lucido, and this is Bonus Points: the newsletter that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at last week's Pointed news quiz. Want to be the first to know when a new quiz goes live? Sign up for email alerts here. Want to see this newsletter in your inbox every week? Sign up for the newsletter here You all did well last week, but didn't set any records.


Fox News
18 hours ago
- Fox News
Expert reveals how to spot, escape a rip current
SwimJim CEO Jim Spiers joins 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the dangers of rip currents, how to spot them and concerns stemming from the increased risk of pool drownings nationwide.