Tuan H. Nguyen

Captain Tuan H. Nguyen, intimately known to his family and close friends as Tuner, was born in Hue, Vietnam. He is the second oldest of four siblings. They were all very close to each other. He was four years old when he and his family fled to the United States resulting from the fall of Saigon in April 1975.

Tuan enjoyed his time growing up in Loveland, Colorado and playing tennis with his siblings. He was a great athlete and top-ranked tennis player at school. After the family relocated to Santa Rosa, California during his high school days, Tuan returned to Colorado Springs to attend the Air Force Academy in 1989.

Upon graduation from the Air Force Academy, Tuan served in active duty for seven years (1993 – 2000). He served in the Los Angeles Air Force Base, California and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. During his service, Tuan was awarded numerous commendation medals honoring his accomplishments. Most notable was his distinguishing accomplishment as Delta II Systems Engineer and Delta II Financial Manager, Launch Programs Directorate, Space and Missile System Center.

He was truly a “steely eyed missile man.” His visionary management actions were also key to the continuation of the F-15E engine recovery at Royal Air Force Station Lakenheath, United Kingdom. He remained in reserve after 2000 and was honorably discharged in July 2008.

In 2001, Tuan returned to school for his Master in Business Administration at Columbia University. He had always an interest in and eye towards real estate, hence returned to his home, Los Angeles for a real estate career after his brief Wall Street days post-Columbia. Tuan served RVM Associates with utmost determination, professionalism, and loyalty for almost ten years. He was wonderful and fun to work with.

In 2004, Tuan met his wife, Grace, and they were married in November 2007. They recently welcomed the birth of their son, Luke, in July 2011. Tuan was always a sweet, caring, loving husband and father.

Though time was short, Tuan was a very proud father and said it was his best and happiest times.

The many of us who had the opportunity to know Tuan would agree that he was a very nice, sincere, genuine, down-to-earth, loving, and accomplished person. He was extremely generous and did not hesitate to render help in various capacities. He was such a terrific person, left such a big footprint on earth, and will be sorely missed.