Soeung You

Mr. Soeung You was born on February 6, 1940 in Takeo Province, Cambodia, to Mr. Tri You and Mrs. Long You (both deceased). He had three siblings, two older sisters, Sorn You and Mol You, and a younger brother, Sean You (all deceased). In July 1960, he married Ms. Sakhan Oeur and they had seven children together: Sovanna, Sovannara (deceased), Sakeda (deceased), Rattana; Soleil, Srey Mao (deceased) and Mittpheap.

Born to a farming family in Takeo province, Mr. You strived and became the only person in his family to get a formal education. Under the French education system, he studied at Preah Outey High School in Takeo Province, passed Baccalaureate One exam, and continued with tertiary education up to university level fourth stage (Post-doctorate), where he received a Licence and Masters Degree for Cambodian and French Literature. As a Cambodian and French literature professor, he conducted research and wrote many papers on Angkor Watt and Cambodian literature, and taught the subject at lycée and universitie in Phnom Penh. He became the principal of one of the lycée in Phnom Penh until the Khmer Rouge came into power in April 1975.

After the Khmer Rouge regime, Mr. You guided his family though treacherous jungles out of Cambodia in 1979 and immigrated to the United States in 1980 via Khao-I-Dang Refugee camp (Thailand) and Philippine Refugee Processing Center (Bataan, Philippines). Settling in Arlington Virginia, Mr. You became an independent driver for Diamond Cab and finally Red Top Cab until he retired in 2004. In his spare time, he occasionally taught Khmer at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia to foreign service officers.

Mr. You was an avid reader of Cambodian printed media, loved listening to traditional Cambodian music (Ayay Prom Magn and Chapey) and playing Cambodian traditional music (Takhe and Tro instruments), enjoyed traveling, and most of all, loved and cared dearly for his family. He was a hard-working, kind, compassionate, and intelligent man who could light up a room with his warm smile and quick sense of humor. He will be forever missed by his family and all those who knew and loved him.