Joseph Sanh Trong Tran

Sanh was born in Hue, Vietnam on 8/5/1914 and lived past 107 years. Sanh married Bich Khuong Thi Luu sharing 68 years of marriage until her passing in 2007. He was father to My Nhat Thi Tran (Thai Van Nguyen), An Son Trong Tran, Brother An Phong Trong Tran, My Duc Thi Nguyen (Bach Van Nguyen), An Phu Trong Tran (Mai Xuan Dai), An Quy Trong Tran, My Y Thi Bui (Phuc Quang Bui), My Anh Thi Vo (Dinh Van Vo), My Nga Tran-Ferraro (John Ferraro). Sanh was grandfather to 24 and great-grandfather to 28 children.

Mass will be celebrated at St Isaac Jogues Catholic Church, 50 W Walker Rd, Wayne, PA 19087 at 10:30AM on Saturday 12/4. In lieu of flowers, the family would ask for donations to Sanh-Khuong Memorial Scholarship Fund to help the poor students in Vietnam, with check made payable to De La Salle Institute, and mailed to SK MSF, 1103 Maxey Court, San Jose, CA 95132.

Sanh grew up in Hue, Vietnam. He started his adult life as a seminarian after being converted to Catholicism. He later left the seminary and proceeded to become a teacher for several Catholic schools. In the ‘50s, he was involved in politics and was appointed to the position of Director-General in charge of security for Central Vietnam and the highlands under the auspices of the government of the Republic of Vietnam. Then, the Geneva Accords of 1954 divided Vietnam into North and South Vietnam, with the North, placed under the rule of the communists and the South under the aegis of the people who opt for democracy. Under the governments of South Vietnam, Mr. Tran assumed several responsible political positions to help build the country.

When the communists took South Vietnam by force in 1975, Mr. Tran fled the country with his family to shun away from totalitarianism, found freedom in the United States, where he spent the rest of his life as a devoted Catholic and a productive US citizen.

For anyone unable to attend the mass, the ceremony will be streamed live.