Hong Van Vu

Vu Van Hong was born on May 25, 1933 in Ha Dong, Viet Nam and died on January 27, 2012 in Wichita Falls, Texas. He is survived by his wife Vu Thi Kim-Oanh; daughter Vu Than Hang, sons Vu Phuong Canh, and Vu Hoai Duc; daughter-in-law Jennifer Lynn Vu; grandsons James Riley Vu, and Jackson Blake Vu; granddaughters Kathryn Thuy Vu, and Sydney Austin Lucking.

Although he grew up in the northern part of Viet Nam, Hong, who had already enlisted, became part of the army of South Viet Nam when the country was divided in 1954. While in the army, he achieved the rank of captain and attended law school. After he left the army, he became a judge and married Kim Oanh Thi Nguyen (a pharmacist). They had a daughter, Hang, and son, Canh. With his two children and pregnant wife, he was fortunate enough to escape Sai Gon the day it fell to the communists.

His second son, Duc, was born in Hawaii near the end of the family's journey to the United States. The family was settled in Houston, Texas, but both Hong and Kim eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. Unable to return to law because of a less than full command of English, Hong, who had only to present his dissertation to be awarded a doctorate in Economics in Viet Nam, became a CPA and worked for the Internal Audits department of the University of Texas at Austin. His hard work put all of his three children through both college and medical school. He retired after 15 years of service to the university.

On April 13, 2004, Hong suffered a massive stroke that left him unable to speak and paralyzed on the right side. In the last nearly eight years of his life, he was tended to virtually exclusively by his wife and younger son, whose commitment to and care of him kept him without all but minor complications. He died peacefully at home with his wife, who was beside him for his last breath.

He was deeply devoted to his family, who remembers him now with profound gratitude and love. He will be interred today at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks.

To share memories of Hong with his family, please visit www.cookwaldencapitalparks.com