Aki Iwasaki, beloved brother and son 10.11.2023

Beloved son, brother and friend Akinobu Iwasaki passed away on Wednesday 10/11/23 surrounded by all of his family members.

Aki suffered from a sudden Pulmonary Embolism on 10/4/23, that led to every imaginable complication. After spending days at the UPMC Presbyterian, with the staff there trying everything they could to help Aki, he was officially pronounced brain dead.

His entire family flew from all sides of the world to be by Aki’s side in his final moments, before they took him off the machines that were keeping him alive.

No words can describe the pain Shota, Miyuki, Sunkook, Noritaka, Soonmee, Lena, Miae, and Shohey Iwasaki are feeling for losing their son and brother.

Aki was attending a trade school this fall in hopes of discovering a practical skill set that he liked that could eventually lead to a career path for him. Before this, Aki lived with his family in Philadelphia where you could almost always find him (at any hour of the day) playing basketball with friends at a local court. Basketball is probably one of the first things to come to mind when any of us who knew Aki think of him. He loved the game. He loved challenging people, he loved getting challenged, and he loved smack talking. Basketball was Aki’s way of making friends, relating to people, and expressing himself to the fullest.

When not on the court, you could find Aki challenging his older brothers, Sunkook and Nori, to wrestling matches, playing games with his younger brother Shohey, and chilling at home with his sisters Soonmee, Lena and Miae.

Aki was such a kind, loving, and understanding kid. He brought so much laughter and joy to everyone's lives. For anyone who had the blessing of knowing Aki, our lives will be forever changed now that he's no longer with us.

We ask if you could support the Iwasaki family in this difficult time, and allow them the time and space to properly grieve.

Your help will support them with medical bills, his Seung Hwa ceremony, and any expenses that accumulated along the way. Thank you so much to everyone who prayed and sent good thoughts to Aki and reached out to the Iwasaki family. We feel your love.