Cuc Nguyen's Obituary
Cuc Nguyen departed this life on April, 29th 2021. Beloved brother, father, grandfather and great grandfather. Cuc was preceded in death by his parents Hung Nguyen and Dung-Tho Cong-Nu, his brothers Thao Truong and Kha Nguyen. Cuc is survived by his brother Tung Nguyen and nieces and nephews in France, Vietnam and US; daughters: Phuong-Anh Nguyen and husband Don Khieu, Claire Phuong-Trang Nguyen Krieger and husband Tom Krieger; grandchildren: Amy Nguyen Wood and husband Jay Wood, Timothy Nguyen, Vincent Nguyen, Hannah Nguyen, Alice Krieger and Natalie Krieger, and great grandson Luke Wood.
Cuc was born in Hue, Vietnam on the 15th of January, 1929. He spent the first half of his life in Vietnam serving in the military and as a civilian, while the second half in Dallas, Texas. He was a man of many passions – a competitive swimmer, an avid reader, writer, book collector, involved in the arts, and took part in many social and cultural events.
While in Vietnam as a young man, Cuc earned a law degree in Saigon (1952), studied abroad - Logistics High Command School in Paris, France (1955) and Finance at Ft Benjamin Harrison, Indiana (1957). He served as a major of the Vietnamese Army in charge of the Vietnam Army Radio (1952), the Press Office at the National Defense Ministry (1956), Provincial Deputy Chief and Chief of An Giang and Long Khanh provinces (1959). After the assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963, his career shifted to civilian life. He became a professor of Vietnamese and French Literature at Taberd College in Saigon (1964) then Managing Director of Sicovina, a national textile company (1965-1975) until he left for the US in April 1975 when Vietnam fell to the communists. What he missed most was his 3000 volume family library in Vietnam, many of them rare and first edition books.
He came to Dallas to raise two young daughters. He worked at both Sears and Washington National Insurance while taking International Management classes at UTD and taught Latin at Richland College. In his retirement, he devoted his time to writing. His subjects included politics, Vietnam history and culture. He often wrote about the Imperial City Hue where he was born and raised. He loved to travel to see friends and family.
He lived a full and satisfying life with a very active mind to the very end – always giving, learning and sharing his knowledge and wisdom in the most poetic way with those lucky enough to know him. He never met a stranger. He wrote in a simple note accompanying a gift “Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, and Today is a gift, that’s why we call it ‘Present’ (Eleanor Roosevelt).”
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