Mr. Le Gia Bui

Our dad Le Gia Bui, age 81, passed away on May 15, 2021 after a short battle with cancer. He was born in Bui Chu, Vietnam. He was the fifth youngest son of six children, that included five boys and his baby sister.

Dad lived an inspirational life during his times in Vietnam. At age 4 after he lost his father, his mom was unable to care for all her kids and made a difficult decision to send him and his older brother away to an all-boys Catholic boarding school. She wanted him to get a good religious education and to have a fatherly figure supported by priesthood that he was lacking at home. This decision was the best thing that his mom made. Dad finished primary school there and during his teen years he decided to further his study there and branch off into their seminary school. In 1954 when Vietnam was divided, he fled with the other seminary students from North Vietnam into South Vietnam. In high school, he excelled in all his classes and was accepted into Michigan State University National Institute of Public Administration of Vietnam and later graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor in Public Administration. He served as a public servant for the South Vietnamese government after that.

In 1975 after the Vietnam War, dad was put in a re-education camp for over 8 years by the North Vietnamese. He has said that those years were very difficult for him but it was having the love for God that helped him to endure the times there. In 1984 after he was released, he immigrated to Fort Worth, Texas and was reunited with his family.

Dad was a loving husband to our mom, Thao, to whom he was married to in 1964. He was a wonderful father to his five children; Loan , James , Joseph, Kevin and Helen.

Dad was a kind-hearted and gentle grandpa to his nine grandchildren; Katie, William, Aaron, Christopher, Macy, Isabel, Anthony, Stephen and Brandon. His grandkids will always remember their “Ong” as always having a bright and cheerful "hello" greeting when he entered the room. He instilled in them to never be afraid to try new things and to always take time to enjoy the simple things in life.

Our dad was a soft-spoken man who enjoyed sharing and talking to family and friends about current events and he had a passion for reading and writing. There was not a single time that we didn't see him reading a book or writing something in his journal. He had a fascination for learning new subjects, this included learning three languages besides his native tongue. Dad lived by the life motto of “never stop learning.”

Dad stayed active throughout the latter years of his life. He completed an Associated degree in French at Tarrant County College and was a French tutor at the school. Up to the last month of his life, dad worked at the Tarrant County Election Poll. He was an active member at the city of North Richland Hills Senior Center and enjoyed doing daily water aerobics activities and walks at the center.

Dad loved God and his family. He lived each day on earth to the fullest as if it was his last day. Each day he had was a gift from God, and he never took that for granted. His abundance of gratitude to God showed in how he lived his life and he never looked back on life’s unfortunate setbacks and hardships.

Dad, we thank God he made you, our dad. We thank you God for the times we had with him on this earth and we will forever treasure all the good memories that we had together.

You are loved beyond words and missed dearly.

The family will receive guests for visitation on Thursday, May 27, 2021 from 5:00 PM-8:00 PM at Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home 5725 Colleyville Blvd, Colleyville, TX 76034.

Funeral Mass on Friday May 28, 2021 at 11:00 AM, Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 1000 Tinker Rd, Colleyville, TX 76034

Graveside Services will be held after Mass at Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park, 5725 Colleyville Blvd, Colleyville, TX 76034 817-498-5894

If you wish to send flowers in honor of our dad please contact Lilium Floral Design at 817-589-1566 or http://www.liliumflorals.com.