Hung Khanh Nguyen's Obituary
On August 29, 1950, Nguyen Khanh Hung was born to the proud parents of Nguyen Trong Kha and Do Thi Dung in Nam Dinh, Vietnam. His father was an official in the civil service, and his mother was a merchant who ran both the household and the shop. Hung was their first son, and the second oldest of 9 brothers and sisters.
With his mother’s support at the height of the Vietnam conflict in 1969, Hung traveled to Wiesbaden, Germany to obtain his university degree in mechanical engineering. He was hosted by the Winkler family, with whom he found support away from home as he gained confidence in German language and culture. At the end of 1976, Hung reunited with his family in America. He earned his degree in German Literature from the University of Texas, Austin while working odd jobs to support his way. He quickly acclimated to the new language, and upon graduation in 1978, he worked as an engineer in numerous cities throughout America, thanks to his mechanical engineering degree obtained in Germany.
In 1988, Hung married Lieu and together they established roots in Oakland, California. To support his wife in opening her own tailoring shop, Hung shifted careers. Inheriting his mother’s business acumen, Hung found success in real estate, allowing him more time to spend at home with his children. Together, Hung and Lieu had three older daughters and a son. As his children went off to college, Hung lived a semi-retired life, spending time reading history books, and traveling to take in that history personally. Having experienced the agency of education first-hand, he uplifted others by funding numerous scholarships in Oakland and Vietnam. Continuing his father’s legacy of faith-based charitable work, Hung also contributed to the development of churches and schools in rural Vietnam.
His life journey has spanned many continents; in Germany he found self-determination and personal growth, and in the USA he embraced opportunity and maturity. Through it all, Vietnam remained his homeland and Oakland, his home. On October 10, 2019, Hung passed away in Oakland, California. He is survived by his wife Lieu and his four children: Huong, Karin Hanh, Hedda Hieu, and Ben Hoang.
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