Mr. Phan was born in Hanoi, Vietnam. In 1954, his family moved to South Vietnam. It was love at first sight when he met and married Cam Anh Chu, his wife of 57 years, in the summer of 1962 in Saigon.
Mr. Phan graduated from Saigon University with an English degree, and earned an additional BS in Library Sciences, and Master’s in Library Sciences degree from Syracuse University in 1973. Returning to Vietnam, he was the Head Librarian and instructor at the Võ Bị Quốc Gia Academy in Dalat. In 1975, he and his family left Vietnam for the United States. For 21 years, he was an English as a Second Language and Social Studies teacher at Madison High School. Mr. Phan was also an educator at Portland Community College, as well as Foreign Language Assistant at Multnomah County Library. In 1997 he retired from Portland Public Schools.
Cong Dinh Phan was a quiet man, however his actions spoke volumes about his kindness, honesty, generosity and humility. Always ready with a smile, he loved to laugh. He was a man of simple pleasures and the greatest of these was his love of food and cooking. In his prime, Mr. Phan would expertly cook huge stockpots of pho, pork bbq (bun thit nuong), steak (thit bo luc lac) and fish that he caught because he loved recreational fishing. Mr. Phan truly enjoyed music, literature and sharing Vietnamese culture with the larger community.
Mr. Phan was utterly devoted to his family. Through his sacrifice and hard work, all of his children were educated and have become successful in their respective professions.
Mr. Phan was magnanimous with his time and never hesitated to help others. He left an outsized impact throughout the Portland immigrant community. A devout Buddhist, Mr. Phan gained merit through community service by volunteering at Portland area Buddhist temples and teaching English and citizenship classes. He also volunteered to teach Vietnamese reading and writing to children at Vietnamese school on the weekends in Beaverton.
Cong Dinh Phan is survived by his beloved wife Cam Anh Chu; older sister Chung Thi Phan, older brother Hue Dinh Phan, and younger sisters Chinh Thi Phan and Thu Thi Phan; his children Diep “Chrissy” Phan (with Dang Nguyen), Tri Phan (with Jennifer Pham), Huong Phan, and Anh Phan (with Craig Swanner); grand- children Jenny Flowers (with Tobias Flowers), Michael Nguyen, Natalie Phan, Emilie Phan, Madeleine Lee and Claire Lee. He is predeceased by his younger brother Diem Dinh Phan.
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