With a life that spanned times of great change in the world around her, Tutam Teresa Hoang Le was a blessing to everyone she met, from her friendly personality to her sense of humor. She was the type of person who could take everything in stride and delighted all with her fun-loving nature. She enjoyed so many of the best things that life has to offer, but what made these experiences to extraordinary was sharing them with the ones she loved. Life will never be the same without Tutam here, but she left behind a priceless collection of memories that her loved ones will forever hold near and dear to their hearts.
Tutam was born on August 29, 1996 in Hillsboro, OR and moved to San Diego, CA with her mom and younger brother in December 2000. She unexpectedly passed away on August 21st, 2016 at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, San Diego. She will be deeply missed by her father Hoang Le, her mother Lanchi Hoang, and her brother Quan Le. She was also survived by uncles Giao Hoang, Linh Hoang, Ban Hoang, aunt Lananh Hoang, and cousins Kimberly, Kathy, Danh, Mimi, Duy, Huy, Katherine, Kevin, Mai, and Tran.
Growing up in sunny San Diego along with her brother and cousins, she enjoyed going to La Jolla Beach to swing on the monkey bar, played with her boogie board and swam in the water, or made sand cakes with her brother. She was a very lovable child, kind and sweet. She always likes to help people and does great at school. She loved swimming as a baby and took her first swimming lesson when she was 6 months old. She showed interested in music and learned to play piano at age 7 and recorder at age 11. She played Clarinet and performed at school concerts during 6th grade. She was consistently learning, practicing, and performing though out her middle school and high school. Her favorite songs are Fur Elise and Moonlight Santana of Beethoven, and Canon in D of Pachelbel.
She attended Sundance Elementary school and graduated from Sundance on June 19th, 2007. She was a good reader and won many medals for Reading Competitions. She loved to help her brother to read and read to him at night. She also liked Math and Science and was part of Future Scientists and Engineers of America (F.S.E.A.) Club. She received a first place for her Maximum Distance project at the Catapult Event in February 2007, a 3rd place Strangest Looking for her Impact-Absorbing Package project at the Egg Drop Event, and many certificates for other projects throughout the years.
During her middle school at Mesa Verde, she continued her eager-to-learn attitude toward studying and attended AVID program which prepared students for college. She showed interest on helping people and tried to help other school friends to get better in academic. When her mom encouraged her to hang out with good friends or best students at school as a proverb saying: “If near ink, you will be black, if near light, you will be shine”, she asked her mom “Why can’t she be a light to shine others and have good influences on those considered “bad” to help them to be better?”. At such young age, she already expressed her sympathy to those who are less fortunate and wanted to help them to get better in life no matter what it takes. When one of her friends had an eating disorder condition, she encouraged her to eat, sat with her during lunch, visited her at the hospital, and helped her throughout school years in spite of losing her other friends when she spent less time with them. She already showed a courage and determinations toward her life and people around her as a teen. Her best friend Kira Pechtimaldjian (San Diego, CA) wrote to Tutam in her Facebook “You are the most special person I have ever met, anyone who knew you, even just for a little, knew what a beautiful unique special person you were. Thank you for showing me how to love myself and for always making me laugh and feel better… My life and many others have been forever changed because of you.” She graduated from Mesa Verde in June 8th, 2010.
As continuing to grow during her high school at Westview, she was loved by all her friends and teachers. She was open to everyone, made friends with those who are shy or feel isolated and made them feel comfortable. She deeply cared and affected those whom she contacted with or was closed to with her big smiles, positive attitudes, and kind heart. Her friend Ishita Kanungo (Santa Barbara, CA) wrote “Tutam shaped me in so many ways… Tutam was one of those with whom it didn’t matter how much time had passed, she would welcome you with a smile on her face…” Her homeroom teacher Mr. Woodward told her mom that Tutam was the first student who initiated a snack routine for his class, managed and kept track the process. She was a very loving and cheerful child and he was very pleased to have her in his class. Her teacher Dan Lutgen came to her funeral and told her mom that she brightened up his class with her cheerful, big smiles and he was honor to have her in his class. She expressed a great love for animals and always tried to protect them. She adopted a cat and named her Vida. She loved to take care and play with Vida. She did many charity works at Helen Woodward Animal Center and Food Banks to help animals and poor people. She enjoyed hiking and going to Mt. Hood, Big Bear, or Laguna Mountain to play in snow with family and friends. Seafood and Shushi are her favorite foods, especially Eel Unagi. She loved to go on cruises with family. She enjoyed spending time with families at birthdays and holiday parties. She liked to play with her brother and friends at Nickle City and Mira Mesa Bowl. Her life was altered during her senior year and she had to deal with many changes socially and mentally but she always kept thinking positive and gave unconditional love and kindness to others around her wherever she went. She never gave up and taught herself to be strong, loving, fun, independent, and reliable. She graduated from Glencoe High School on June 7th, 2014.
While continuing her education at Mesa College in San Diego, CA with Computer Science Major, she worked part time at a hair accessory shop, scarf shop, and then Dairy Queen to be independent and to support herself. Her friend Stacy Storozhenko at Dairy Queen (San Diego, CA) wrote “…she was the nicest and hard working person I ever met…She made me feel so good about myself…thank you for helping me out at work when I struggled sometimes...” Even though she had a full schedule and extremely busy with school and work, she always made time for friends, families, or whoever need her. She went out of her way to help friends in need of a ride, gas, etc. or just to hang out with them. Her friend Christopher Hill (Hillsboro, OR) wrote to her “…I’ll always remember the memories we had, so caring and willing to share. You are such an intelligent person, you taught me so many things about myself and life in general...” She always tried to be a great daughter and a big sister. She always remembered birthdays and made that person happy. She guided her younger brother to make breakfast in bed for mom and always gave thoughtful gifts on her birthdays. She made time to hang out with her brother on his birthdays. She initiated and organized a birthday party for her cousin Kim at BJ’s restaurant and all cousins was able to come except Danh and Mimi. Throughout her life, she always showed she was more mature than her age and put big impacts on lives of friends, families, co-workers, and those she contacted with. Life was not always easy for her, but she faced whatever came her way with both a quiet strength and a graceful courage. She always tried to be positive toward others with honest, caring attitudes and a big smile on her face. Her cousin Kathy (Thousand Oaks, CA) wrote “…She was one of the kind. She always sought to help others and understood that life was hard, but sought answers. She didn’t have all the answers, but that never stopped her from asking until she was able to formulate her own morals of situations. Her expressions are priceless. She was down for pretty much anything which made her so lovable and fun to be around…”
To her, “Life is short” but she always tried to make the best out of it and never want to burden others with her problems or sadness. She deeply touched so many hearts and made differences in their lives while it lasted. All who knew Tutam Le would agree that she was truly beautiful on the inside and out. Tutam treasured her family, and there was nothing she loved more than being surrounded by the ones she loved. Generous beyond measure, she was always looking for ways to help others in ways both great and small. Deeply loved, Tutam will never be forgotten.
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