Chanthavong, Nanlaeng Boonkaung (1928-2015)

CHANTHAVONG

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 6/5/2015 at 10:48:33

Nanlaeng Boonkaung Chanthavong
March 4, 1928 - May 14, 2015

Nanlaeng Boonkaung Chanthavong, age 87, of Storm Lake, Iowa, died on Thursday, May 14, 2015, in Storm Lake.

Nanlaeng was born on March 4, 1928, in Laos. He had an older sister, an older brother, and a younger brother. Before he married, he lived in a Buddhist temple in his village. His parents sent him at the age of eight or nine to live in the temple to become a monk. Nanlaeng had decided on his own to become a monk because he would have an easy life. He did not have to work hard in the fields and was given food donated by the villagers. He had only to clean the temple, study the books of Buddha, and graduate from Ban Kuok. He lived in the temple and wore orange garments until he was twenty-eight years old. During that time, he traveled to various temples to do monastic work and saw a little bit of the world.

At the age of twenty-eight, however, he decided to leave the monastic life behind to find a woman to marry. He, then, moved to Tad Vang Pha, Thailand, and lived with friends for about three years. Before returning to Ban Kuok, our home village, he worked for a while in a business. After returning home in 1960, he discovered that Keo Chanthavong, a friend from childhood, had been a single parent for almost three years. He asked her to marry him, and she did. He was thirty-two years old, and she was twenty-seven. Together, they had five children: Somsak Chanthavong, the oldest son, of Alaska; Khamon Chanthavong, Tong Chanthavong, and Win Chanthavong, all of Laos; and Boonyom “Pany” Chanthavong, of Storm Lake. He, also, has twelve grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

While living in Laos, Nanlaeng, having settled into the life of a farmer, enjoyed growing various crops such as rice, corn, peppers, and sugar cane. He loved to spend time outside in his garden whenever he could. Most of all, however, he loved spending quality time with his family.

In 2007, Nanlaeng moved to the United States to live with his daughter, Pany. He remained with her for the rest of his life. He will be remembered forever.

Funeral services will be held Sunday, May 17, 2015, at 6:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Storm Lake. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.

Copyright © 2015, Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes

Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by LaVern Velau.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen