Vanna Nguyen

Our beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and wife, Vanna Nguyen, Nee Dinh Thi Tinh, peacefully passed away in her sleep on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 after a brief illness. She was born in Dong Lac, Vietnam in 1927 and spent most of her childhood in North Vietnam until she married Van Nguyen in an arranged marriage at the age of 19. Her marriage cut her education short in order to start a family. Shortly after her first son, Chi, was born, she immigrated to South Vietnam in 1954 to escape communism and search for a better life for her and her family, which included her parents-in-law. Her life was struck by another tragedy in 1973 when her youngest daughter, Hai Duong, passed away unexpectedly from meningitis at age 11.

A life of misfortune strengthens a survivor’s mentality in our mother. As the wife of a military officer whose salary was never enough to feed a family of eight, our mother had to reinvent herself time after time to supplement the family income. In 1970, she put on her entrepreneurial hat and learned how to drive a car while caring for her terminally ill father-in-law and also started a cafeteria business (Cau Lac Bo) for the military officers in Quang Trung, Vietnam. With the help of her niece, Minh Chau, she successfully managed the business for several years until she and her family immigrated to the United States after the fall of South Vietnam in April of 1975.

Our mother’s entrepreneurial pursuit did not end in Vietnam, it followed her to America. In 1977, she and her son, Chi, joined her niece, Hien, and Hien’s husband, Pho Phan, along with other relatives to start the food manufacturing company, Minh Foods, in Pasadena, Texas. Her work ethic was instrumental in the rebuilding of a new life in a foreign country as a single mom. During this new chapter in her life, she continued to care for her Mother-in-law for a total of 45 years. She also had a spirit for adventure and traveled to several countries spanning multiple continents. She worked at Minh Foods until she was 65 years old; shortly after, she began her tranquil retirement life with her family.

Even though our mother’s education was cut short, she provided for our family with an abundance of love and sacrifice. She was a model for her children and future generations in her commitment to her family, her strong beliefs in duties, religion, and dedication to health and fitness. Her family and practice of Buddhism were the essence of her life until her last breath on February 25, 2020. We are forever indebted to her teachings of love, survival, and sacrifice for others.

Weep Not For Me

By an Unknown Author

Weep not for me though I have gone

Into that gentle night

Grieve if you will, but not for long

Upon my soul’s sweet flight

I am at peace, my soul’s at rest

There is no need for tears

For with your love I was so blessed

For all those many years

There is no pain, I suffer not

The fear is now all gone

Put now these things out of your thoughts

In your memory I live on

Remember not my fight for breath

Remember not the strife

Please do not dwell upon my death

But celebrate my life