To Huynh

Born on November 28, 1928, in Nanhai, China, our mother lived a life defined by courage, sacrifice, hard work, and unconditional love.

At the age of six, she left China with her parents and moved to Vietnam. As the eldest of five children, she learned responsibility at an early age. Although she received five years of formal education, she began working at the age of thirteen to help support her family and continued doing so even after she married.

She was blessed with two younger brothers and two sisters. Today, one sister remains to cherish her memory.

At the age of nineteen, she married our father and together they built a family rooted in love, perseverance, and strong values. To help provide for her growing family, she worked as a self-employed box maker. She spent her days caring for her children and worked late into the night after most of us fell asleep. No sacrifice was ever too great when it came to providing for her family.

Mom was known for her generosity and kindness, always helping her brothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors whenever they needed her and expecting nothing in return. Her compassion, strength, and integrity earned the respect and admiration of everyone who knew her.

She raised ten children and devoted her life to giving them opportunities she never had herself. In December 1973, dad and mom made the difficult and courageous decision to send her eldest son, Kam, to Hong Kong in search of freedom and a better future.

After our father passed away on December 1, 1978, she faced one of the greatest challenges of her life. In May 1979, driven by hope for her children’s future, she made the courageous decision to leave Vietnam on a small wooden boat with eight of her children and a future daughter in-law (Huong) in search of freedom. With a heavy heart, she was forced to leave behind her eldest daughter and her family. Before departing, she made a promise that one day they would reunited.

Despite speaking limited English, Mom was determined to become a U.S. citizen so she could keep her promise and sponsor our eldest sister's family to U.S. Mom's resilience and hours of studying, she passed the citizenship test and proudly became a U.S. citizen. In 1997, mom fulfilled her promise and our eldest sister and her family immigrated from Vietnam to Seattle, Washington. It was one of Mom’s proudest accomplishments and a testament to her love, devotion and determination keeping our family together.

On June 13, 2026, our beloved mother passed away peacefully at the age of 98, surrounded by all of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Her final moments reflected the love she spent a lifetime creating.

She leaves behind a remarkable legacy through her ten children, nineteen grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, five daughters-in-law, and four sons-in-law. Her love, strength, sacrifices, and unwavering devotion to family will continue to inspire generations to come.

Our mother’s life was a testament to perseverance, faith, and selfless love. Though she will be deeply missed, her spirit lives on in the lives she touched and in the family she cherished above all else.

Our family would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our sister, Kathy, whose love, care, and devotion to our mother, reflected the same selflessness and dedication that Mom showed to all of us throughout her life. We are deeply thankful for the countless sacrifices Kathy made and for the unwavering support she provided to our mother and our family.

We also extend our sincere appreciation to Mom’s dedicated caregiver, whose kindness, compassion, and attentive care brought comfort, dignity, and peace to her throughout her later years.

Mom, your love and sacrifices gave us the opportunities and lives we enjoy today. We will forever be grateful. May you rest in peace, reunited once again with Dad and all those who went before you.

深情緬懷我哋摯愛嘅母親黃翠梅

我哋媽媽喺1928年11月28號喺中國南海出世，佢一生充滿勇氣、犧牲、勤力同無條件嘅愛。

六歲嗰年，佢同父母一齊離開中國，搬去越南。 作為五個兄弟姊妹中嘅長女，佢細個就學識咗責任感。 雖然佢接受咗五年正規教育，但佢十三歲開始做工幫手養家，甚至結咗婚都繼續做。

佢有兩個細佬同兩個細妹。 而家，有一位姊妹留喺度，珍惜佢嘅回憶。

十九歲嗰年，佢嫁咗畀我哋爸爸，佢哋一齊建立咗一個以愛、堅持同堅強價值觀為根基嘅家庭。 為咗幫手養活日益壯大嘅家庭，佢做咗自僱嘅箱匠。 佢日頭照顧小朋友，夜晚先返工，大部分人都瞓咗。 為咗養家，冇咩犧牲係太大嘅。

媽媽以慷慨同善良聞名，無論兄弟姊妹、朋友同鄰居有需要，都會幫佢哋，唔求回報。 佢嘅同情心、堅強同正直贏得咗所有認識佢嘅人嘅尊重同欽佩。

佢養育咗十個小朋友，並且一生致力畀佢哋機會，係佢自己從未有過嘅。 1973年12月，爸爸媽媽作出一個艱難而勇敢嘅決定，送佢大仔(錦鴻)去香港，尋求自由同更好嘅未來。

我哋爸爸喺1978年12月1號過身之後，佢面對咗人生其中一個最大嘅挑戰。 1979年5月，懷住對仔女未來嘅希望，佢勇敢決定帶住八個仔女同未來媳婦(香)乘一艘細木船離開越南，尋找自由。 帶住沉重嘅心情，佢被迫離開咗大女同家人。 離開之前，佢承諾有一日佢哋會重聚。

雖然英文講得唔多，媽咪都堅持要成為美國公民，咁先可以兌現承諾，幫大姐一家人去美國。 媽媽嘅堅毅同花咗好多時間讀書，佢通過咗公民考試，驕傲咁成為美國公民。 1997年，媽媽兌現承諾，我哋大姐同佢屋企人由越南移民去華盛頓州西雅圖。 呢個係媽媽最自豪嘅成就之一，亦證明咗佢嘅愛、奉獻同決心，令我哋家庭團結。

喺2026年6月13日，我哋摯愛嘅媽媽安詳離世，享年98歲，身邊圍繞住佢所有嘅子女、孫輩同曾孫。 佢最後嘅時刻反映咗佢一生去建立嘅愛。

佢透過十個子女、十九個孫、九個曾孫、五個媳婦同三個女婿，留下咗非凡嘅遺產。 佢嘅愛、堅強、犧牲同對家庭嘅堅定奉獻，將繼續激勵未來幾代人。

我哋媽媽嘅一生係堅持、信念同無私愛嘅見證。 雖然佢會被深深懷念，但佢嘅精神依然活喺佢影響過嘅生命同佢最珍惜嘅家庭入面。

我哋屋企想向我哋嘅姊姊Kathy表達衷心嘅感激，佢對媽媽嘅愛、關懷同奉獻，反映咗媽媽一生對我哋所有人嘅無私同奉獻。 我哋非常感激Kathy作出嘅無數犧牲，亦感激佢對我哋媽媽同我哋家庭嘅堅定支持。

我哋亦衷心感謝媽媽呢位盡心盡力嘅照顧者，佢嘅善良、同情心同細心照顧，喺佢晚年帶嚟安慰、尊嚴同平靜。

媽，你嘅愛同犧牲畀咗我哋今日享受嘅機會同生活。 我哋會永遠感激你。 願你安息，再次同爸爸同所有先人團聚。