Nguyen Thi Nga passed away in her sleep on Thursday, September 1, 2022 at the age of 92 in Tampa, Florida. She was born on June 23, 1930 to Nguyen Trung Cong and Nguyen Thi Tra in Ha Dong, Vietnam. She met and married Nguyen Cao Binh in 1946 and moved to Saigon, Vietnam in 1954 when the country was divided by the Geneva Convention. Together they raised ten wonderful children. In March 1975, Binh was posted to the Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea. Nga and four of their younger children joined him soon afterwards. The family emigrated to the United States and settled in Tampa, Florida in August 1975. Prior to 1975, two of their sons were studying abroad in Australia, and one son moved to the US once his education was completed. During the fall of Saigon, their eldest son Ngoc managed to leave for Guam, then to the US, and eventually settled in Orange County, CA after completing his pathology residency at UC Irvine. The three daughters who remained in Vietnam joined them in Tampa in 1985 and 1991 through the Orderly Departure Program (ODP). Nga was very happy and considered herself truly blessed that through all the turmoils of war, she was able to live with most of her children nearby and almost all in the same country.
Nga was a kind, honest, and generous person. She was an unwavering supporter of many charitable causes. But her greatest passion, however, was always her family, her husband and children. She put great emphasis on good education for all of her offspring and made countless personal sacrifices to ensure her children can achieve the careers of their dreams. Her love and dedication to her family were reflected not only on the success of her children but also of her grandchildren. Nga loved to cook. She never had any formal culinary training but learned to cook from watching her mother when she was a young girl. She made many traditional Vietnamese foods that were well-loved by everyone.
Once her children have grown, she devoted her life to Buddhism, becoming a vegetarian in 2010. She was a member of the Pureland Buddhist Learning Center (Dao Trang) of Tampa, Florida. Prior to the pandemic, she regularly attended the Center and made many of her closest friends there.
She was predeceased by her husband in 2018 and her son Dr. Nguyen Cao Ngoc in 2021. She is survived by her nine children, eighteen grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren: Nguyen Thi Son, husband Nguyen Thanh Duc, daughter Nguyen Thanh Mai with husband and daughters, and son Nguyen Thanh Nhan with wife and son; Nguyen Lan Anh (Dr. Ngoc’s wife), son Nguyen Cao David, and daughter Nguyen Ngoc Nadia with husband; Nguyen Cao Quynh, wife Nguyen Anh Tuyet, daughter Nguyen Trang Kathleen, and daughter Dr. Nguyen Khanh Emily with husband; Nguyen Cao Lam, wife Nguyen Thi Hai Tho Theresa, son Nguyen Cao Truong Thi Nathan with wife and son, son Nguyen Cao Truong Quan Christopher, and daughter Nguyen Nha Dan Thanh Olivia; Nguyen Cao Minh, wife Nguyen Truc Phuong, sons Dr. Nguyen Khoi Michael and Nguyen Tuan Steven; Nguyen Kim Phuong, husband Mai Vinh Hoa, and daughter Dr. Mai Vivian; Nguyen Cao Thai; Nguyen Kim Lien, husband Pham Thanh Stacy, and son Dr. Pham Phi Phillip; Nguyen Thi Kim Loan, husband Le Francis Hung, daughter Dr. Le Kim Anh Nicole with husband, and sons Le Van Alexander and Le Nam Adam; Nguyen Kim Yen, husband Nguyen Huu Vi, daughter Nguyen Thao Elizabeth with husband, and son Nguyen Chuong Justin.
The memorial service will be held on Friday, September 16, 2022 at 10 am at Hillsboro Memorial Funeral Home, 2323 West Brandon Blvd, Brandon, FL 33511. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.HillsboroMemorial.com for the Nguyen family.
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