"Xi Xiong Kue was born the only child of Xeng Xiong and Yer Yang in a small village in Laos. From the beginning, she had a fierce and competitive spirit, looking to change the world and to prove to her father that a girl was just as good as a boy. She was top of her class and in the middle of studying to be a teacher when the Vietnam War forced her to flee to the Thai refugee camps where she married Ying Kue and eventually came to the USA. Being one of the first few educated Hmong women, she helped other refugees by translating and integrating their families in this new land. Xi went on to have four children, who were the true loves of her life. She was an entrepreneur, a teacher, a world traveler, an avid book-reader, a storyteller, a movie-lover, a rule-bender, a most loyal friend, but her favorite job in life was being a World-Class Grandmother of Ten. She may be gone from this earth but her spirit burns brightly within each one of them. We love you forever, momma."