Dung Thi Ngoc Huynh

Dung Thi Ngoc Huynh passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 18, 2023 at the age of 71. Born in Hai-Phong, Vietnam, Dung was the eldest of 9 siblings who prepared her for her hardest but most rewarding job of motherhood.

Family was everything to her and she went on to have 6 children of her own, all born in late and post-war South Vietnam. After many obstacles, the family immigrated to the United States and settled in Memphis, Tennessee in 1989 thanks in no small part to Dung and her husband’s devotion to their children’s future. As soon as she received her papers, Dung secured her first job at an apparel company where she worked as much overtime as was available, without taking one sick day, for the next 31 years until her retirement during the pandemic in 2020.

Second to her children was her passion for the arts. Skilled at hand-embroidering and sewing since childhood, Dung made her 9-to-5 into a daily exploration of the balance between creativity and function in her job as an embroidery digitizer. She was a natural beauty and complemented her understated confidence with a uniquely stylish wardrobe. A gifted poet, she loved to read and write poetry, collaborating with friends on song compositions, complete with cover art she graphically designed, all the way through her final days. Before her emigration from Vietnam, Dung wrote think pieces about the Communist regime for local newspapers under a pen name, for her family’s safety. She gave that pen name to her youngest daughter, who inherited her knack for prose and dissent, often to her mother’s dismay.

Dung was a very good cook and an even better food critic of her children’s versions of the traditional Vietnamese dishes she taught them. She adored a good laugh and affectionate tease, showing her boundless love in unconventional ways. Anyone who has tasted her daughters’ cooking has been taught the proper way to chop vegetables and that pre-minced garlic from a jar is criminal.

A matriarch and independent to a fault, Dung’s pride and joy were the strong women and men she raised, who, like her, are far from perfect but are each their own perfect blend of her sharp wit, profound artistry, and above all else, undying loyalty to their families, the one Dung gave them and the ones they later made for themselves.

Dung is survived by her 6 children, her former husband, 3 grandchildren, and 4 granddogs. A private celebration will be held at Family Funeral Care on September 1, 2023, what would have been her 72nd birthday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to World Relief Memphis, one of many organizations and people who helped her light the way to a brighter future for her children.