Anh T. Walraven

It is with a most heavy heart that we communicate to friends and family that Anh T. Walraven (of Alpharetta, Georgia) has lost her long battle with Parkinson’s and Neuropathy; and entered the kingdom of heaven on October 19, 2021.

We are so deeply saddened to have lost the matriarch of the immediate family, the extended Vietnamese family, and was a force in the community of Johns Creek, Georgia and abroad. We will miss her deeply, as she has lived God’s Word and taught us all the gifts of Love, Caring and Peace by her many examples.

A mother/ daughter’s bond is unmatched by their love and dedication to each other. We all learned just how strong Ana’s love was for her mom by watching the daily interactions and detailed care that she provided her mother in the last few years of her life. WE will ALL be forever grateful to both of them for showing us how unconditional and Agape love works. Anh will be missed, dearly.

Anh is preceded in death by her father (Bi Van Tran), mother (Tu Thi Nguyen), husband (William “Wally” Walraven), and brother (Hung Van Tran). She is survived by and will be remembered and honored by her daughter (Ana Walraven Neidermeyer), son-in-law (Eric Neidermeyer), son (David Walraven), and granddaughter (Cierra Rachel Neidermeyer). She is also survived by her brother (Dang Van Tran), his wife (En Truong Tran), sister-in-law (Thanh Bui Tran), 2 nephews, 5 nieces, 8 great nephews, 12 great nieces; as well as many other family members in the U.S. and abroad including her children sponsored in Vietnam at Thien An Orphanage which she helped start in 2004..

Anh was born August 17th, 1943 in Saigon Vietnam. In April 1975, Anh and her daughter Ana sought asylum in the United States with the impending fall of Saigon. Anh and Ana were sponsored soon after by Wally Walraven, her future husband. One of her proudest moments, Anh said, was becoming a U.S. Citizen.

Anh was well traveled and her young family lived in Iran, Illinois, Michigan, Greece and later settled in the Atlanta Georgia area, in the mid 80’s, where both Anh and Wally continued to raise their family. By the mid 80’s and early 90’s, they sponsored many family members from Vietnam, including Anh’s father, who lived with us until his death in 2014.

After Wally’s death in 1998, Anh enrolled and attended The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, located in Louisville, Kentucky, and obtained 2 undergraduate degrees and 2 masters degrees in Missiology and Divinity. Subsequently, Anh became an ordained minister and Stephen Minister at Johns Creek United Methodist Church (UMC) in Johns Creek, Georgia. For many years Anh traveled abroad to South East Asia to spread God’s message, assisting in the establishment of UMC churches and congregations, and continued her dedication to helping children in Vietnam by establishing an orphanage, of which she supported physically, emotionally and financially up until the day of her passing. Helping children with love and kindness was a passion of Anh from the time she was a teenager.

It is with that dedication in mind that one of her last wishes was that in lieu of flowers, donations be accepted for the continued support of the Vietnam Ministries and Orphanage. Donations can be made via Anh’s Page for Thien An Orphanage:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/vietnam-ministries-anhs-umc-ophanage

Please join us in remembering Anh Walraven and welcoming her in the Kingdom of Heaven and into God’s loving hands to see the face of Jesus. Peace to you all and God Bless you and your family.