Anthony Hung Do

• As a youngster migrating from North to South Vietnam

• As a student on scholarship to study abroad in the US, on his own

• As a family man and a teacher with heavy responsibility to those in his charge

• As a wartime refugee fleeing his home to start life over at age 40 in a new country with little more than what could be carried in a suitcase

• As a well educated man who was hardworking in the humblest of jobs, before his true professional value in the workplace was recognized

• As an esteemed colleague leaving his working life behind with mixed emotions, to enter retirement

• As an old man with declining health, adjusting reluctantly to a life in which he must increasingly depend on others

On the early hours of Saturday, July 10th, he remade himself one last time as he shed his frail and worn body to transform into something beyond this world and the spiritual realm. He left us heavy hearted but grateful for many rich memories and life lessons learned in both good and bad times, in which we had the privilege of walking beside him.

Each of us has had our own unique relationship with him, but most of us will agree that he saw himself, first and foremost, as a family man who wanted the best for his family and who was steadfast in his love of Vietnamese culture and traditions, always mindful of his family ancestry. The love for family was unflinchingly extended beyond his core family to nieces, nephews and even to great nieces and great nephews. To these special family members, he was a father figure, especially after their own father had passed away. All have felt his support throughout the years, and all are grieving his loss.

To his own children he has instilled the importance of education and the value of hard work, which he himself demonstrated throughout his professional life. A man of modest means, he and Mom managed to raise six children, all of whom were able to complete college and or higher degrees.

Dad was someone who wore his heart on his sleeve. You always knew without question when he was upset and when he was happy. He had a trademark smile that was infectious and liked to act silly and joke around when he felt most relaxed to be himself. His first love, outside of family and work, was photography. We his children still remember the makeshift darkroom that he was able to set up in the bathroom at our house on Oak Street in Dayton, Tennessee. He was a devoted Catholic who saw to it that his children were brought up properly in the Church. He had a special place in his heart for Saint Martin de Porres, who consequently became our family’s Patron Saint. At the time of his passing, he was wearing a rosary.

Dad is no longer with us in this world, but those he left behind will carry him with us in our hearts and minds for the rest of our lives. We miss him dearly. He was husband, father, grandfather, uncle, friend , neighbor, colleague, and more to us who will cherish our memories with him always.