Tuy Ngoc Nguyen

Tuy Ngoc Nguyen aka Nguyen Hong (ten phap danh/ Dharma name), 81, died in San Jose, CA, on May 25, 2023. Until his last breath, he was surrounded by many loved ones. He is predeceased by Thi Van Nguyen (father) and Sen Thi Quang (mother), and survived by Thu Thi Nguyen (wife, 67), Tuan Ngoc Nguyen (son, 44), Christine Lieu Nguyen Vaeth (daughter, 41), Alexander Lieu Nguyen (son, 35), Warren Ray Vien Vaeth (grandson, 9), Brian Alvin Vaeth (son-in-law, 42), Ngoc Thi Phan (daughter, 53), Christine Ly (granddaughter, 35), Julie Le (granddaughter, 34), Charlie Phan (grandson, 30), Tommy Phan (great grandson, 19), Skylar Le (great grandson, 11), Hunter Le (great grandson, 5), Emily Le (great grand daughter, 3), Owen Ly (great grandson, 5), and Oliver Ly (great grandson, 3).

Tuy was born on August 6, 1942 in Bien Hoa, Vietnam. He attended Lycee Yersin, a school in Da Lat that catered to the children of upper class Vietnamese and French colonialists. There, he learned to speak English and French. Education was very important to his parents, and his father made a lot of sacrifices to ensure Tuy and his sisters would receive the best education in Vietnam.

As a young adult, he joined the Southern Vietnamese army in 1964 and fought against the Communist regime for over 10 years. He was captured as a prisoner-of-war and remained in a concentration camp for 4 years. Tuy’s time during the war would shape his outlook and legacy in many ways.

In 1979, Tuy, together with his ex-wife, Lieu, their eldest son, Tuan, and the rest of Lieu’s family escaped their war-torn country in the middle of the night by boat. They arrived at a refugee camp in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tuy wanted to contribute his skills in a meaningful way and quickly worked his way up to Chief of the ESL/Orientation program at the Cheras Transit Camp. In this role, he managed and ran the ESL and orientation programs acclimating 300 refugees per week.

In 1981, Tuy and his family made their way to California. He found work as a technician and worked at Faraday, Western Digital, and Johnson & Johnson until his retirement.

Tuy was the life of the party and was always ready to dance or sing karaoke to his heart's delight. He often came prepared with a stack of hand-written and printed lyric sheets of his favorite songs like Yesterday, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, Love is Blue, and El Paso, to name a few. He loved singing in French, Spanish and English.

He adored Nat King Cole and would sing Unforgettable to his children.

In his golden years, Tuy’s sense of purpose shifted to spending more time with his adult children, often dropping off delicious Vietnamese dishes prepared by his loving wife, Thu. Sharing a home cooked meal and a bottle of wine with his children brought him much joy.

Tuy had a great sense of humor, smile and laugh that could light up a room. We will miss him dearly.