Eulogy For Ông Nội - Nguyễn Thành Sơn

Hello everyone. For those of you I haven't had the privilege of meeting yet, my name is Nhi, and Nguyễn Thành Sơn was my grandfather—my ông nội.

Before I begin, I’d like to take a brief moment to thank each and every one of you for traveling from near and far to honor Ông Nội and celebrate the life he lived. I also want to express my deepest gratitude to his children—my aunts and uncles. You have poured so much love, care, and effort into planning and preparing this beautiful service to honor Ông Nội. I know how difficult these past few weeks have been as each person grieves in different ways, and our entire family is so grateful we can come together once more to share our love for him and remember him.

Ông Nội was born in 1940, and he was no stranger to war. He grew up witnessing immense tragedies some of us in this room will never begin to understand—this includes losing his parents and a sibling to a mass bombing. The Vietnam War, in particular, forced him to fight in battles no young person should ever have to experience, and in the midst of this, he was also incarcerated as a soldier.

I could speak at length about the hardships he faced, but I bring this up to shed light on how I hope Ông Nội will be remembered. He wasn’t just someone who faced tremendous heartache, but someone who fiercely embraced hope and the possibilities of a better life for himself and the people he loved. This hope led him to escape political persecution. Alongside his children—my dad, uncles, and aunts—he took the immense risk to flee by boat, eventually finding refuge in a new, foreign country. Without Ông Nội, none of us would be here today. We are able to pursue the lives that we lead, in part, because of his unwavering hope in the midst of so much loss.

Ông Nội will be remembered for the path he paved for our family, but as his granddaughter, I will also hold tightly to the person I got to witness and grow up with. A man who allowed himself to make jokes—at times even dark ones. A person who learned how to love deeply and be soft with his grandchildren. A man who chuckled often when catching up with old friends. Someone who didn’t speak much, but found solace in writing his stories – he might even be internet famous, though we can’t confirm. And most importantly, he was a grandfather and a dad who found quiet comfort simply watching his children and grandchildren eat, play, and laugh in one room—of course, with a glass of wine in his hand.

Even during his final days, he gifted us a moment to come together as a family to be with him—laughing at old vacation photos, doing exercises in the living room, cooking canh chua together, and spending precious time together with him as a family.

I’d like to believe that if there’s anything Ông Nội would want us to remember, it is this: forgive faster, love fiercely, and laugh often. When we think about Ông Nội, let’s continue to laugh and embrace the gift of the [86] years of life and memories he offered us.

Ông Nội, I know this was all in English, but I hope there’s a live Google Translator up there since I know how much you hate it when we don’t speak Vietnamese. Still, I want you to know — it has been an honor to be your cháu nội, and I would gladly choose you to be my Ông Nội again in every single lifetime. Thank you.