She was born into a world at war, first with the French occupation of Vietnam and then civil war between the North Vietnamese Communist and the South Vietnamese Nationalist.
At the age of 12 she would spend her free time at a Buddhist temple and perform volunteer tasks and help with prayer services / chanting.
At the age of 18 she left her family home and joined the temple in Saigon to begin her monastic life.
There she spent her days studying Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine and living a strict monastic life. She specialized in eye care and the temple even compounded their own eye drops to treat red eye, swelling and irritation from the elements. The temple would provide free healthcare to those in need by handing out tickets every day and triaging care.
Since the temple could only see a certain number of patients a day, they had to hand out tickets. If they had the capacity to see 100 patients, then they would hand out 100 tickets.
A donation box was placed at the front of the clinic and the patients could give a donation for the health care instead of paying a set fee.
Then in 1978 the Communist took over and she had to flee Vietnam. There was a man who organized the escape from Vietnam and he would later become her husband. He brought with him 2 of the 3 sons he had with his first wife.
Of the 3 Million Vietnamese boat people that fled Vietnam, only 1 Million made it to the shores of Australia, Canada, the U.S. and other countries accepting refugees. Ha Thu became that man's 2nd wife when she landed in America.
There she had two children, Duong To Trang in 1980 and Duong Hanh Duy in 1987.
She also raised his children as her own, always saying that she wasn't the mother that gave birth to them ...but she was the mother that nurtured and cared for them. They abandoned her and ceased contact with her when she received her cancer diagnosis ; around the time when they came home from serving federal prison time. They currently reside in Vietnam and continue their prior profession of providing street pharmedicals to others.
Education:
Associate Degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine issued on Feb. 16, 1972 from Trung Tam Huan Luyen Nam Duoc at To Dinh Hung Minh Tu.
Hobbies:
Sewing, Cooking, specializing in Banh Bao, Banh Tet, Banh Xeo, Gardening & Floral arrangement
She is preceded in death by her father: Nguyen Van Bao, mother Nguyen Thi Tep, and her beloved son Duong Hanh Duy.
Left to honor her memory and remember her is her daughter Duong To Trang aka Soul Trang their cat "Banh Mi" in Austin TX and the Nguyen clan
(brothers, sisters, brother in laws, sister in laws, nieces and nephews) in South Vietnam.
In Lieu of flowers her daughter has asked instead for donations to be made in her honor to Chu Trouc Lam. Family friend Tami Huynh is receiving the donations on behalf of the family for the temple the venmo account is: @TamiLeHuynh
A graveside service for Ha will be held Sunday, April 21, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home & Cemetery, 14501 N Interstate Hwy 35, Pflugerville, TX 78660.
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