Hanh My Vo

Hanh My Vo was born in Can Tho, Viet Nam on September 27, 1942. Her mother, Nguyen Thi Bay was a home maker and her father, Vo Van Si, was the head of the city of Can Tho. She grew up in an affluent household and lead a very carefree childhood. She attended an all-female Catholic school in Saigon and studied home economics. She loved to draw, paint, knit, crochet, cook and especially bake. At 25, she married Le Khoi and together they had four children. Using her talent for baking, she opened a French Bakery and sold an assortment of French pastries and fine French goods.

After the fall of South Viet Nam in 1975, the world as she knew it was turned upside down. She lost everything: her bakery, her wealth, her livelihood, and her husband who was fighting against the communists and fled out of the fear of being imprisoned and/or killed. Having nothing left, she took her four children and fled the country. She arrived in America after a treacherous one-year journey and was reunited with her husband. However, this union was short-lived as they divorced just one week later. At this point she had no choice but to move on and continue to work hard to support her children.

Although her life in America was very rough, she managed to always make ends meet. To do this she took up a variety of jobs, including being a line cook, a cosmetic salesperson, a tattoo artist, and a manicurist.

In 2012, she finally retired at 70 and took a trip back to Viet Nam for the first time in 33 years with her two daughters. Five years later, she was diagnosed with dementia and Parkinson’s disease. As the disease progressed, she was robbed of her memories and motor skills. This would not be the first time that life had taken everything away from her. She passed away peacefully on February 25, 2023. Although she is no longer in this world, her memory lives on through her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.