Hung Viet Lai

He was born in Saigon, Vietnam on October 10, 1948 to Thanh Lai and Dung Nguyen. He is survived by his loving husband John R. Kort, his sister Van Kim Lai of Springfield, Massachusetts, his half-brother Quoc Lai of Alexandria, Virginia, his half-sister Hong Van Lai of Corona, California, and a number of other half-siblings living around the world.

Hung immigrated to the U.S. in April 1975 when Saigon fell to North Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam-American war. Having landed in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas as a refugee, Hung was sponsored by a family in Washington state and originally settled there. When one of his aunts from Vietnam was sponsored by a family in Dayton, Tennessee, Hung resettled there, where, at a mere 90 pounds, he worked in a Lazy-Boy furniture factory making furniture, sometimes weighing more than he. He then moved to the Washington D.C. area, where he remained the rest of his life.

In Washington D.C. Mr. Lai was hired by the Hyatt Hotels at the Hyatt Capitol Hill, where he worked his way up from a dishwasher, room service clerk, bartender, then waiter. During his time as a waiter on Capitol Hill, he served some political luminaries, including Ronald Reagan, who later became President of the United States. During the last few years of his tenure at the Hyatt, Hung studied to be a cosmetologist and received his cosmetology license and began working at the Hair Cuttery. He remained at the Hair Cuttery as a hairstylist, assistant manager, and a manager for 30 years until he retired in 2015.

Besides cooking and gardening, Hung and his husband John enjoyed traveling, taking winter and summer vacations every year, staying at numerous cities in Florida, Texas, New Mexico, New England, California, Mexico, Canada, and Europe to name a few. They also loved the beach and owned a condo then a single family home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for over 22 years. They had many memorable times in that beach town.

A service is scheduled for 12:00 pm on Saturday, January 25th, 2025 at Demaine Funeral Home in Springfield, Virginia.