Panhavuth Ly

Panhavuth is survived by his wife, Angela Samang OUM; his children: Sochetra LY and his spouse Jeffery NEWBY of Phoenix, AZ, and Sovathana LY and her spouse John GIDDENS of Beaverton, OR; his older sister Sarem LY of Arlington, TX; his older brother Heng San LY of Beaverton, OR; and his youngest brother Chanhavuth LY of Aloha, OR. He is preceded in death by his children: Srey Pech LY and Dort LY; his eldest sister Sarom LY, his older brothers Sarim LY and Sarin LY; his father, Ouk LY; and his mother, Sakun PICH. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews and their children.

Panhavuth was born on March 3, 1950, in Kratie Province, Cambodia. He reached the rank of first lieutenant in the Khmer Republic Army before marrying Samang OUM on March 6, 1975, in the capital city, Phnom Penh. When city fell to the Khmer Rouge on April 17, 1975, they were forced to march to Battambang Province. In order to survive the Killing Fields, he hid his military background. In 1976 first born daughter Srey Pech died, three days after birth due to starvation, and in1979 second child, son Dort, passed away at 9 months due to pneumonia. He also lost his mother and his siblings and several members of his extended family. After the fall the Khmer Rouge regime, he returned to Phnom Penh to work in radio broadcast. His surviving son and daughter were born there. His work lead to a 3-month assignment in Moscow in 1983. In hope of a better future, he and his family, and his wife’s younger sister, Sinon OUM, left on a perilous trek for one of the Thai border camps in August 1984. In the camp he worked as a mechanics to support his family.

The Ly family was sponsored for immigration to the United States by Pan’s brother Chanhavuth and arrived in Oregon in 1987. Pan earned an associate degree in Electronics from the Oregon Polytechnic Institute and worked at JAE Oregon for 24 years. He and his family became naturalized citizens in 1998. A resident of Beaverton since his arrival, his family and friends remember him as a survivor of war and famine, a driven refugee, and a hard-working emigrant. He will be remembered as a loyal and dutiful husband, a father who cherished his children, and a generous man with a sly sense of humor who gave freely to his extended family.

In addition, Panhavuth will be remembered for his love of fishing, especially at Ft. Steven State Park, visits to Oregon coast, his green thumb as a vegetable gardener, road trips to National Parks, and his delight in seeing hummingbirds in his yard.

A funeral is scheduled for Sunday, 10:00 a.m. on August 5th, at Finley-Sunset Hills Mortuary, with a lunch to follow. Cambodia Buddhist monks will officiate the ceremony. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Panhavuth's life. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the American Kidney Fund or Lutheran Community Services NW.