Hong Thi Vu Obituary (1945

Hong Thi Vu, age 73, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away on March 21, 2019 due to complications from lymphoma. A faithful Catholic all her life, she moved on to the next life with unceasing prayers on her lips until her last breath. She was preceded in death by her parents, Can Ngoc Vu and Mien Thi Vu. She was born June 9, 1945 in Nam Dinh, Viet Nam. After the Geneva Accords in 1954, splitting the country in half, her family fled south to escape the communist regime controlling North Viet Nam. She married Thong Ba Hoang, an ARVN officer, on June 17, 1967. She graduated from Saigon College of Education that same year, and was an elementary teacher for 23 years. After the fall of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War in 1975, she did everything possible to raise her family without her husband, who languished in the communist "re-education" camp for 13 years due to his position as an ARVN major. She taught primary school during the day for meager pay and sold spices as well as various trinkets at the open farmers' market after school to supplement her income. Risking everything for a chance at freedom, she bravely allowed her five children to secretly escape the Vietnamese communist regime in the dark of night via boats in the 1980s. Although she could have fled with them, she stayed and waited for her husband's release from the communist gulag, which occurred in 1988. She reunited with her children in the United States in 1992 in Panama City, FL. Her family relocated to Austin, TX in 1993, where she worked as a live-in nanny for 2 years, then had a job as an assembly worker until 2008. She was a gentle, patient mother, never raising her voice despite all the efforts and antics of her children. Ever the doting grandmother, she would care for her grandchildren during their newborn days and always remembered all their birthdays. She is survived by her husband Thong Ba Hoang; her sisters Hong-Yen Thi Vu, My-Linh Vu, Bich-Nga Vu, and Minh-Dieu Vu; her daughters and their husbands - Doan-Trang Vu Hoang and Minh-Huan Ngo Vu, Thu-Trang Vu Hoang and Xuan-Bich Dao; her sons and their wives - Ngoc-Tuong Vu Hoang and Tuyet-Mai Ngo, Ba-Tuong Vu Hoang and Thao Do, Ngoc-An Vu Hoang and Thao Nguyen; her grandchildren Minh-Quyen Ngo Vu, Hai-Ly Ngo Vu, Han-Anh Ngo Vu, Phi-Lam Thomas Hoang, Bao-Tran Kayla Hoang, Tuong-Vi Dao, Thi Hoang Dao, Dan Minh Dao, Bao-Quyen Dao, Bao-Duyen Dao, Thien-An Hoang Dao, Thien-Nhan Francis Hoang, Tam-Duc Joseph Hoang, Thanh-Hieu Catalina Hoang, Trong-Nghia Andrew Hoang, Isabella Nguyen, and Khang Bryson Nguyen Hoang. An active parishioner of the Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church of Austin, she was in several prayer groups and charitable organizations and attended Mass daily. She will be greatly missed by her fellow parishioners. Visitation and Recitation of Holy Rosary is on Thursday, March 28, 2019, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm and Friday, March 29, 2019 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Austin Peel & Son Funeral Home, 607 E. Anderson Lane, Austin, TX 78752. Mourning cloth rites and Mass is on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 6:30 pm at Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church, 1107 E. Yager Lane, Austin, TX 78753. Mass of Christian burial begins at 2:00 pm, Saturday, March 30, 2019 at Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church, 1107 E. Yager Lane, Austin, TX 78756. Burial will follow Mass at Cook-Walden Capital Parks Cemetery, 14501 North Interstate 35, Pflugerville, TX 78660. The family would like to thank everyone in advance for your love and prayers. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to your favorite Catholic charities. To plant a tree in memory of Hong Vu, please visit our Tribute Store.