My Father-in-Law was the family patriarch, loved and respected by all. His legacy lives on through his family: (6) children, (17) grandchildren, (13) great grandchildren that he and his wife nurtured. 

He left Shantou, Guangzhou, China when he was 19 years old because there was a famine in China and his family was starving.  He arrived in Bac Lieu, Viet Nam penniless.  He became a coolie and he was able to send money home to feed his family.  Through hard work he was able to buy his freedom and start a business.

He got married when he was 24 and his wife was 16.   He not only helped support his family in China (sending $2 home for every $3 he earned) but he also helped support his wife's family.  His wife's family consisted of her young widowed mother, 1 brother and 5 sisters ranging from 15 to 3 years old.  His wife was the oldest daughter. 

Eventually he and his wife had 8 children, six of which survive to this day.  He became a successful merchant; however, he was forced to leave Vietnam in 1979 due to the political changes after the Vietnamese war.  To leave Vietnam he sold everything he had so he could pay 10 ounces of gold per person so eight of his family members could leave.  They had a trouble free exit from Vietnam and they spent 18 months in Ku-Ku and Galang refugee camps in Indonesia. 

They settled in San Jose, USA in 1980.  After he arrived he was able to sponsor his remaining daughter in Vietnam and she eventually arrived in the US in 2005.


--Sean