Son Que Nguyen

Sơn Quế Nguyễn, age 84, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, August 28, 2021 at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center, Texas. Shortly after losing his wife, Thục-Oanh, of 61 years, he died from a broken heart and Covid complications.

Sơn was born on January 13, 1937, in Hànội, tĩnh Thanh Hóa, Việt Nam, to mother Phạm Thị Loan and father Nguyễn Quế Duong. He was preceded in death by his older brother who passed away at a very young age. With the rise of communism, Sơn, then a teenager, was forced to leave his parents to seek safety in Saigon with a school for boys raised by Catholic priests.

Sơn graduated from Chu Văn An University in 1954 and joined the Republic of Việt Nam Air Force in 1955. After military training at Nha Trang Air Force Base, he was sent to the U.S. at Lackland AFB in Texas for 6 months and to Bartow AFB in Florida for training on T-34 and T-28. He later trained on the B-25 twin-engine bomber. Sơn returned home in 1957 and served in the C-47 Transport Squadron. Positions held: Deputy Squadron of 817th Squadron Fire Dragon AC-47, Squadron Commander of Squadron 421 C-123 and Deputy Squadron of Squadron 435 C-130 until April 30, 1975. Sơn's fellow pilots and classmates in the U.S.: Trần Trọng Ngọc, Đặng văn Đức, Cung Thăng An, Dương Thiệu Cường (deceased), Nguyễn văn Cử (deceased), Đặng Xuân Hoàng (deceased), Lại Quốc Trang (deceased).

Sơn married Thục-Oanh in 1960 and raised 4 loving children in Saigon, Việt Nam until the 1975 Fall of Saigon. Adapting to a new life in the U.S., Sơn landed a job as a corporate pilot for a short time in Dallas. Due to the company’s downsizing, Sơn had to find a job in Houston and later moved to Spring in 1978. Sơn was an Allstate agent for nearly 30 years and an independent real estate broker until his death. Although it was his profession, he loved showing houses and it never felt like work to him. Sơn was a devout Catholic, an active member of Cursillo Vietnam, served as a lector and was a member of the Vietnamese ministry at St. Ignatius Loyola for many years. Sơn was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather; he loved traveling and spending time with family, especially his precious grandchildren. There weren’t many places where he didn’t have a friend. He was always there for his family and friends, he had a great willingness to help wherever and whenever needed. He was truly a person for others.

Memories of Sơn will be cherished by his 4 children and their spouses, 12 grandchildren and their spouses, 4 great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, neighbors, and close friends near and far.