Long Nguyen

On a peaceful Sunday afternoon, Dr. Long Nguyen passed away gently in his sleep. This is a celebration of his incredible life.

Long (translated as Dragon in Vietnamese) dedicated his life to the mantra of keep fighting, keep going, and always moving forward.

Born in Da Lat, Vietnam, Long was a founding member and Dean of Van Hahn University in Saigon. As a Buddhist activist leader, he helped organize and lead thousands of his fellow South Vietnamese people against oppression during the escalation of the Vietnam War.

After the fall of Saigon, Long, his former wife, and their three small children fled the country by sea alongside hundreds of thousands of war refugees. Known as the Boat People, they survived pirate attacks, dehydration, starvation, and the open ocean.

In the United States, Long received his PhD from UC Berkeley with his thesis: “Village Government in Vietnam: Politics of Infrastructure” and became a Professor of Political Science there. For 25 years, he also operated a successful small business in Southern California and was an accomplished writer, publishing “Man in Search of the Absolute” (philosophical poems) and “After Saigon Fell: Daily Life under the Vietnamese Communists,” as well as recently completing “The Whole Universe” (philosophical poems).

He is survived and loved by his wife Kathy; two daughters (Julie and Irene); three sons (Steven, Michael, and Wilson); and four grandchildren (Kilia, Vianna, Ethan, and Benjamin). In his own words, his greatest accomplishment was teaching the importance of education for a better life, which is represented in the advanced degrees obtained by all five of his children, including Doctorate, Master, and Bachelor Degrees from UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, UC Davis, San Francisco State, and the University of the Pacific.