KimAnh Nguyen

At the age of 85, the proud Mom and Grandma, KimAnh Nguyen, had decided to join her husband, Khai Cao, in heaven, leaving behind her beautiful family of three children and their spouses and five grandchildren.

KimAnh was born in MoCay, a small village in South Vietnam. She attended Saigon University College of Education and graduated with a bachelor degree in English Language Arts (ELA) in 1961. She continued with her training in education in Singapore and New Zealand and had become an ELA Professor at Saigon University.

Upon her arrival in the United States in 1989, KimAnh attended Jersey City State College in New Jersey and got re-certified in teaching. She worked as a teacher for the Jersey City Board of Education, teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) and Bilingual Language to foreign students from the age of 5 to 18 until her retirement in 2003. During her 42 years working as a professor and teacher, she had received multiple awards and recognitions for her dedication and commitment. The 1991 Outstanding Teaching Award, The 1992 ESL/Bilingual Teacher of the Year Award, The 1995 and 2003 Distinguished Service Award, etc. were just among a few to name. She was a caring teacher who loved her students with all her heart, even though she never let it show through her stern look and cold face. She was remembered as the “Tiger Teacher” by her students.

As a mother and grandma, KimAnh continued to play the role of the “Tiger Teacher” and the “Tiger Mom” to her three children and five grandchildren. In her later years, she resided in Lafayette, NJ with her first-born daughter Dao. She loved natures and enjoyed reading, gardening and watching drama series. Most of all she loved to teach her grandchildren, talk to them about her cultures and watch them grow over the years.

KimAnh will forever live in the hearts of her daughter Dao and her husband Kurt, daughter Phuong and her husband Douglas, son Huy (William) and his wife Jennie, and her beautiful five grandchildren Vincent, Nina, Anthony, Molly and Kyle. She will also be missed dearly by her brother Thanh Nhan and his wife Lan Huong of Virginia, and sisters Ngoc Thanh and Ngoc Nga of Vietnam.

As Rumi once said, “Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with their heart and soul there is no such thing as separation”. KimAnh just departed her world of 85 years to embark on a new journey with her husband in a different world. May her new journey be as beautiful and meaningful as the one she shared with all of us.

Until we meet again….