Hoang Dang Le

Hoang lived an incredible life - full of accomplishments, adventures, adoration, and admiration. He was the son of the late Mr. Lê Văn Thuoc, a District Governor in the province of Thanh Hóa in north Vietnam, and the late Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Nhiệm - his loving mother. At the age of eight, Hoang and his immediate family left north Vietnam in a risky, nighttime airplane escape from Hanoi to Saigon - as the threat of the communist party was rising. After completing high school at the prestigious Pétrus Ky Secondary School in Saigon, Hoang was awarded The New Zealand Colombo Plan Scholarship to study engineering abroad. In the summer of 1971, he met Huynh Thi Yen Tuyet in Christchurch, New Zealand. Their courtship commenced that summer, and continued over the next three years. They fell deeply in love during their time in Auckland, where Hoang worked as a junior structural engineer and Tuyet went to school at the University of Auckland. They spent time driving up and down the coast to Napier, Whangārei, and Mission Bay - where the lights were beautiful and romantic at night. They were engaged in 1972 and married in 1974 in Tuyet’s hometown of Huế in Vietnam.

Hoang dreamed of a better life for himself and his family - one where the opportunities for himself and his children would be determined by their quality of education and work ethic. Hoang’s father was extremely focused on quality education, and said to his sons that education - and only education - will make you successful in life. He would tell Hoang and his brothers “Không học thì đi ăn mày,” meaning “if you do not study you will be a beggar.” On April 28, 1975 - in the last days of the Vietnam War - and after days of driving around the city trying to find a way out of the country, Hoang and his older brother Hong were at the US Airforce base in Saigon. There was a lineup of people one kilometer long, desperate to get out of Vietnam and to a life of freedom. After standing around all day, there was an announcement that all people at the air force base needed to leave the site or risk being jailed. Everyone left, except for the two Le Dang brothers. As they contemplated their next move - they were approached by an armed US Official, who questioned why they were still there and insisted they leave. At that point, Hoang logically and heartfully discussed and asked for cooperation to leave Vietnam. In what his brother Hong Le describes as a miracle, the US officer escorted the two brothers into the base, and arranged for the paperwork for all seven family members to deport the next day. The day after, Hoang’s group of seven family members: Hoang, his five-month pregnant wife Tuyet, her younger brother Lam Huynh, Hoang’s mother Nguyễn Thị Nhiệm, Hoang’s older brother Hong Le and wife Ha with their 14-day old daughter left Saigon escaped Vietnam on one of the last cargo airplanes out of the country. On April 30th, 1975 the US pulled out of Vietnam and the South surrendered to the Communist North.

Having escaped on one of the last cargo planes out of Vietnam - Hoang and his family ended up in Kingston, Ontario, Canada - where his younger brother, Dang, was already studying at Queen’s University. Years prior, Hoang had fortuitously suggested that his younger brother study in the USA, and not follow Hoang to New Zealand, as Dang’s opportunities in the USA would be more plentiful. Arriving effectively as refugees, after four weeks, all the brothers parted and went their separate ways. Hoang - a civil structural engineer by trade - received a job offer as a junior engineer in Winnipeg. Over the next two years, his first two children - David Huynh Dang Le and Ian Long Dang Le - were born in 1975 and 1976. While Hoang excelled as a junior civil structural engineer, he yearned for more meaningful work, to give back to the country that had given him so much opportunity, and to blend both his technical skills, desire for more social interaction, and ability to influence more people and investment. His career in public service would start in 1977 with the Government of Saskatechewan in Urban Development of Municipal Affairs - designing and constructing provincial buildings and ice rinks. In 1979, Hoang and his young family moved to Edmonton, Alberta - where Hoang took a job with the Government of Alberta in the Department of Education for the School Building Branch. From 1979 to 2003, Hoang was a driving force in the Department of Education. His passion for education, civil structural engineering, working with people, and community-building fueled his desire to build quality schools for students so that they could have a safe and welcoming environment to learn in. In the community, Hoang would also go on to become the President of the Edmonton Vietnamese Association and assist thousands of Vietnamese people settle into the Edmonton area. On the family front, two of the most important and happiest moments of Hoang and Tuyet’s lives happened in the 1980s. First, in 1981, Hoang and Tuyet sponsored Tuyet’s remaining immediate family in Vietnam over to Canada. This group of family included Hoang’s father- and mother-in-law: Mr. Duong Duc Huynh and Mrs. Sen Thi Phan and three sisters-in-law: Ha, Thao, and Mimi. The family was elated to be reunited in Canada, and this forever changed the future course of the Huynh family for the better. In 1986, Hoang and Tuyet welcomed their third child and only daughter, Christina Yen Hoang Le, into the world - who they both loved tremendously. Hoang would go on to design and build the next two houses his family would live in. As his sons both married, he grew beautifully into his role as a loving grandfather (Ong Noi) to his six beautiful, talented, and smart grandchildren: Sydney, Caden, Logan, Sam, Owen, and Jillian.

In 2006, shortly after the birth of his first grandchild - Sydney - Hoang had his first stroke. He lost voluntary movement on the left side of his body and had to work hard to retrain his brain to control that side of his body as best as he could. One might say, he was "on borrowed time" as of that point in his life. His perspective on the world changed.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Hoang loved to travel annually to Vancouver every summer. Despite pleas from his children to go anywhere else for vacation, Hoang simply loved walks by seawall, the warmer weather, and beautiful nature of Vancouver and Vancouver Island. In 2013, he retired and settled in North Vancouver, just down by the water at Lonsdale Quay. In his retirement and grandfather phase, Hoang would encourage others to slow down, enjoy life, and spend more quality time with family and good friends. Hoang also traveled the world. He traveled with different groups of family to New Zealand and Vietnam to share memories and his life story with his loved ones. He also explored France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Japan, and Boston for the 2010 Winter Classic. Hoang and Tuyet drove all over the greater Vancouver area to cheer on Sydney, Logan, and Owen and often travelled to Calgary to visit Caden, Samuel, and Jillian.

On Thursday, October, 21, 2021, Hoang suffered a severe stroke while walking the waterside Lonsdale Quay route in North Vancouver which he loved so much. During the week he spent at the Lions Gate Hospital, he received endless calls, messages, and prayers from loved ones and friends around the world. Hoang passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 27th, 2021 as the sun rose that morning.

Hoang’s life and memories will live on through his loving wife of 47 years - Tuyet Huynh Le, his three children - David, Ian, and Christina, daughters-in-law - Geneva and Katherine, grandchildren - Sydney, Caden, Logan, Samuel, Owen, and Jillian, his brothers Hong and Dang - and many other family and friends..

The service will be live-streamed. Please join us at https://funeraweb.tv/diffusions/40106

Please note that because of pandemic considerations, there will not be a reception.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Hoang’s memory to either the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation or the Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

The Le Dang and Huynh families thank you for your kind words and prayers during this difficult time.