Katherine Tran

Katherine Tran, born on June 3, 1934 in An Cu, Quang Tri, Vietnam, passed away on June 19, 2018 at the age of 84. She was predeceased by husband, William Tran, with whom she raised their nine children: Tu Van Tran Nguyen, Betty Heidler (Jurgen Klockemann), Rosy N. Tran (Stephen P. Lequieu), Francis Tran (Trang Tran), Alain Tran (Nhan Vo), Linh-Cac Tran-Nguyen, Noelle Boccignone, Bebe Tran, and Jojo Tran (Pamela Tran). She is also remembered by her eleven grandchildren and all whom she welcomed with gracious hospitality to her home. Her door was always open and table set for lovingly prepared gourmet meals.

A true matriarch and an accomplished careerwoman and activist, she was a political secretary and speechwriter, executive secretary for a military servicemember organization, and editor-in-chief of the Hoa Tinh Thuong newspaper.

In 1977, she established Mekong Market and Chez Mekong Restaurant, the first Vietnamese grocery in San Jose and site of many happy reunions of long-lost friends and family. At the age of fifty-two, she studied pastry at Lenôtre in Paris, managing a premiere French bakery in Los Altos. After retirement, Katherine and William collaborated with world-renowned Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh to produce a series of Zen and Buddhist meditation music. She expressed her appreciation of life through poetry and writing.

Her love for Vietnam and familial pride was evident in her many trips to posthumously exonerate her ancestor of treason, rewriting history. However, of all her accomplishments, she was most proud of opening an orphanage and an open-air market in her home town of An Cu. She gave and loved without reserve or expectation. Her legacy of generosity and strength will live on and flourish.