Thongvanh, Sam (1920-2013)
THONGVANH, KHOUNLO, SYNARONG, LONLEAUGLITH, KEMP, BACCAM
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 7/7/2013 at 08:34:44
Sam Thongvanh
June 02, 1920 - June 08, 2013Storm Lake, Iowa
Sam Thongvanh, age 93, of Storm Lake, Iowa, died on June 8, 2013, at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
The son of Sam Thongvanh, Sr., and Song Thongvanh, Sam Thongvanh was born on June 2, 1920, in the village of Mouang Khiang, Mouang Mouai provincial Sonla, Vietnam. In 1947, he married Choy Thongvanh. They became the parents of nine children, four boys and five girls.
As a family, they lived first in Vietnam (Dien Vien Phu, Mouang Thang). They, later, fled to a refugee camp in Hanoi.
As a young man, Sam served in the French Military Battalion #1 of Taidam as a Commando. After the French departed and the Communist Party took over in Dien Vien Phu, they had to flee to Laos in 1955. For the next twenty years, they lived in Ely, a village in the Capital District of Laos Vientiane. Then, the Laotian government changed for the worse. As a result, his family experienced a great many hardships while living there. In 1976, they made their escape to the Nong Khai Refugee Camp in Thailand where they lived for about six years. In 1982, they came to the United States of American, the land of freedom and opportunity.
A very active person, Sam enjoyed socializing with family and friends. He loved his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren and taught them the importance of hard work and discipline. Just as we all remember our fathers and grandfathers, from now on, we will miss Sam forever.
Those left to cherish Sam’s memory include his wife, Choy Thongvanh, of Storm Lake, Iowa; his children: Khamfeung Thongvanh, Souk (Khai) Thongvanh, Houng (Khamlo) Khounlo, and Viengkeo (Bounrong) Synarong, all of Storm Lake, Iowa, and Khamphiou Lonleauglith, of Ontario, Canada, Toune (Curtis) Kemp, of Bloomington, Minnesota, and Khamla Baccam, of Spencer, Iowa; twenty-five grandchildren; twenty-seven great grandchildren; and his brothers: Eun Thongvanh, Teun Thongvanh, and See Thongvanh; as well as extended family members and friends.
Sam was preceded in death by his children: Khamkeung and Barry Thongvanh and one granddaughter, Keo Gail Khounlo.
Visitation: 4:00-6:00 p.m., June 12, 2013, at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Funeral Service: 3:00 p.m., June 13, 2013, at Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Interment: June 13, 2013, at the Storm Lake Cemetery in Storm Lake, Iowa.Copyright © 2013, Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes
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