Ly T Xiong

Ly was born in Ban Pha Thi, Houa Phanh, Laos on September 12, 1961 to Chongge Xiong and Mee Vang. He immigrated to Honolulu, Hawaii in April 1976 with Yawg and Pog Chao Xiong and a year later moved to Missoula, Montana to be with his older brother Vangtou Xiong X. Toyed. Ly graduated from Hellgate High School in Missoula, Montana in 1979 and attended Clearfield Job Corps Center in Utah before receiving his AA in 1982 at Eastern Montana College in Billings, Montana. If you knew Ly well, you would know that education was very important to him, and it was a big part of his life. He earned his BAB in Finance from Eastern Washington University in June 2007. For the last six years Ly was a Senior Operations Specialist at Banner Bank. He specialized in wire transfer and ACH transactions. He had a long and successful career in banking and spent over 30 years in banking operations.

I addition to his professional career, he dedicated over ten years of his time to preserving the Hmong culture. His first book was Hmoob Kev Lis Kev Cai, second book was Hmoob Cov Kab Ke Pam Tuag 101, and his final book was Taw Kev. The first two books were sold all over the world and has helped many of the younger generations.

Ly’s favorite person was his wife See. They married in Missoula, Montana on February 14th, 1982, then later that year they moved to Spokane, Washington. Ly has two sons and two daughters, Pachia, Zongtoua, Kaboa, and Keng. He also has three grandsons, Evan, Logan and Kenzo. He was a devoted father, husband, and grandpa. When his kids were young, he enjoyed attending their after-school activities such as karate, soccer, volleyball, basketball, track and field, cross-country, and music concerts. Whenever his grandkids visited, he would carry them and chase them around expressing his love for them. Ly loved the outdoors especially with family from the fish filled water of the Snake River to the cool crisp air of the mountains. His kids’ favorite memories with Ly were fishing, hunting, camping, and picnics. Ly always taught his kids to stand tall, be proud, and supported them throughout the many accomplishments and difficulties of their lives.

Ly and See also own Seely Teriyaki, a food catering business. They purchased their very first food truck in 2020 and enjoyed spending their summer together selling food at many events all over the Pacific Northwest. Ly took great care in all business details from perfecting their menu, to interacting with their customers, to extremely enjoying chopping meat.

Ly will be greatly missed by his loving family and will always be remembered in their hearts forever.