Life was bleak for three-year-old Lee Bok-Soon. She had been left in an orphanage in Seoul at the end of the Korean War. She was malnourished and a fever had left her brain damaged.

Her life took a definite upturn when, in 1958, Michael and Millie O’Neill, an American couple from Issaquah, Wash, came to the orphanage. They adopted Lee and brought her to America to be a sister to another Korean girl, Michelle, they had adopted earlier. They renamed her Colleen O’Neill.

Life wasn’t all roses, however, as Colleen’s first words were impeded by a speech disability; a disability she still has today.

Colleen O’Neill, formerly Lee Bok-Soon.

Colleen grew up in the Seattle area and at the age of 23, she gave birth to a son. The baby’s father didn’t stick around, so Colleen named him Richard O’Neill and raised him with the help of her adoptive parents. Although half Caucasian, his appearance shows strong Korean features: “my mother’s genes must be stronger than my father’s,” he says.

Richard, now 23, is enrolled at The Julliard School on a full scholarship, and is gaining solid reviews as a viola player. He credits his mother with giving him musical talent. “Her musical abilities are strong. She mastered the piano alone. She was never taught to read music, but she learned it on her own. I don’t think my mother is disabled in any way,” says Richard.

Richard O’Neill’s musical career started at age five and although the family’s income was limited, his grandfather told him, “If you study hard, I believe God will help us.” This support formed the basis of a very special relationship between the boy and his grandparents.

At 16, he changed from the violin to the viola. He wanted to play in a music festival, but there were only places for viola players. He learned to read music for the viola in a week – and realized that his long arms actually made the viola more comfortable to play than the violin.

Last year, O’Neill made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and a connection with a Julliard professor secured him a place with the Sejong Soloists, “a premier string ensemble” according to the Washington Post. This placing also meant he would travel to Korea.

Last May 2002, he performed in Korea as part of the World Cup soccer tournament’s cultural celebration. He took the opportunity to spend some time searching for his mother’s family. “I really would like to find them for her,” he says.

He didn’t have much to go on – just the fact that she was orphaned during the Korean War and a neighbor had brought her to the orphanage. Despite determined efforts, he was unable to trace anyone who knew her. He did, however, manage to get an article about his quest published in a Korean magazine. He is optimistic and says, “I’ll return to Korea next year to perform again. At that time, I am going to bring my mother.”

As for Colleen O’Neill, she met Bill Sutton, her fiance, in Sequim, Wash., and in July 2001, they moved to Astoria, Sutton’s home town. Colleen O’Neill did volunteer work at the Women’s Resource Center before starting with Coast Rehabilitation Services, where she does janitorial maintenance and Bill Sutton plays with the Astoria Concert Band and North Coast Big Band

Although far from her childhood in Seoul, Colleen is still a bundle of smiles and energy. “She doesn’t get out of bed in the morning, she flies out looking for something to do,” explains Sutton.

Their friend, Linda Hellberg, calls her “concentrated orange juice.”