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Born in war-torn Seoul, South Korea in 1957, Christine Grace Day [maiden name] was a Eurasian orphan placed for adoption to an American family. She arrived to live in California at the age of three. Her American family was part of a church congregation [of the Christward Ministry in Escondido, California] whose members adopted ten Korean/Eurasian children, five boys and five girls, including Christine. Hence, she experienced the open sharing and nurturing of families who welcomed their adopted children.
Christine’s childhood featured music, remarkable piano skills, appreciating friends, and a deep love for her pet dogs, cats and a hamster named ’Snowball.’ She called herself a ‘Foodie’ even before this became popular, enjoying cooking and tasting delicious food, as a child and even during the last years of her life.
Christine graduated from the San Luis Rey Little Flower Academy High School in Oceanside, California. Soon thereafter, she married Javier Diaz de Leon Sr. — a native of Guadalahara, Mexico — who encouraged her to learn authentic Mexican recipes and excel in spicey cooking. Together they raised Javier Jr. and Alessandra, especially to enjoy participating in sports of all kinds. When Javier Sr. was killed in a automobile accident in 1998, Christine found it difficult to adjust to her widowed life until she met and later married Dick Moller in 2009. Together with Dick, Christine returned to her love of animals, especially to care for many, many dogs across their 16 years of marriage.
In the last years of her life, Christine was able to connect with her Korean first cousin [identified through DNA testing] Yang Collins, a Beauty Salon & Spa owner in Greenville North Carolina. On her birthday in 2024, Christine enjoyed meeting Yang and her family during a multi-family celebration of her life in nearby Las Vegas.
Christine passed away peacefully on October 4, 2025 in Pahrump. She is survived by her husband Dick Moller, her son Javier Diaz de Leon Jr., her daughter Alessandra McGuckin, son-in-law Ian McGuckin, grandchildren Kyla, Ian Jr., and Kyndall McGuckin, her sister Deva-Marie [Day] Beck, her first cousins, Joan Bates, Mark Boettger, Janet McGurk, Malcolm Hobbs and Yang Collins, and her beloved dogs Zepher and Coco.