Honoring Hai Truong’s Legacy

These funds will go towards our grandma’s cremation, viewing, and bringing her ashes back to Vietnam, so she can rest peacefully with her siblings.

Hai Truong was a fierce, fearless, and independent woman—the true definition of a dragon. Anyone who knew our grandma knew she didn’t tolerate nonsense, but she always, always put her family first.

She immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1991 with her only son—our dad—who we heartbreakingly lost two years ago. After his passing, we, her grandkids—John, Gary, and Dalina Nguyen—became her world. She also got to be a proud great-grandma to Natalie and Kash, John and Amy’s kids.

Grandma worked 28 years as a housekeeper at DoubleTree Suites. She raised all three of us full time and never asked for much. After she retired, she spent her days cooking and cleaning (because that's all she knew), watching Vietnamese concerts and food vlogs on YouTube, and calling family in Vietnam to gossip and critique everything and everyone. She could cuss you out and make you a bowl of pho five minutes later.

In her final years, she was still grieving the loss of our dad but stayed strong for all of us—still taking care of her great-grandkids and brushing off any attempt to take care of her in return. Every time we tried, she’d say she was fine or that she felt good.

On the morning of April 11th, she told us she felt lightheaded. We rushed her to the hospital when she started to lose consciousness. She suffered multiple strokes and was treated for DKA. While her vitals came back up, grandma never regained consciousness after anesthesia. The strokes had severely impacted her brain and kidneys.

We spent every day at the hospital, talking to her. She blinked, moved her lips, and even squeezed our hands. But after 12 days in a coma, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to let her go peacefully and pain-free.

We really thought we had more time. We had plans. Just more time to sit and talk.

We’re planning a small, intimate ceremony for her, and any support you can give means the world to us. These funds will help with cremation costs and bringing her ashes home to Vietnam to reunite with her siblings.

Thank you all for your thoughts, love, and prayers during this time.

With love,

John, Gary, and Dalina Nguyen