Cuong Viet Phan

Cuong Viet Phan, 69, passed away on Sunday, 23 April, 2023 at his home in Fort Worth, Texas.

Cuong was born on 25 March, 1954 in Saigon, Vietnam to Nguyen Thi Tao and Phan Trung Tinh. He went to the United States in 1975 to treat an ear infection with the intention of returning to Vietnam to take care of his father, but after South Vietnam fell, he established a new life in the United States. He pursued degrees at Oklahoma University and Drexel University, and upon graduation, he worked as a data engineer with Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth where he retired.

He was a very dignified and devout Buddhist who made a big impact on everyone he met. He was a quiet man who would become quite animated when he talked about Buddhism. He was generous and had a caring heart. While at Lockheed, he regularly volunteered at the Ronald McDonald house cooking meals for families with loved ones in hospital. After retirement, he and his family established a non-profit for low income housing. He donated money to a temple in Vietnam to build a nursing home and donated money in the United States to build a temple here where he wanted to become a monk in his later years.

His wife will miss confiding in him, going sightseeing with him, and visiting Buddhist temples to hear sermons with him. His children will miss his jokes and the kindness he showed towards others. He instilled in his children a responsibility to alleviate the suffering of their fellows and imbued in all he met a sense of generosity and compassion. Cuong will be dearly missed by all those who knew and loved him.

He is survived by his spouse Canh-Thinh Thi Do, his sons Tung Viet Phan and Tuan Viet Phan, and his daughter Canh-Tien Julia Phan.