Peter Tuyen Van Pham, loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and brother, passed away on 12/24/2021 at the age of 86 years old at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Peter was born in Ha Dong, Vietnam, on April 15th, 1935.

Peter is survived by his loving wife, Mary, of fifty-six years and his five children and four foster children: Cindy Ly married to Liem, David Pham married to Le-Lieu, Tony Pham married to Anh, Peter Pham married to Samantha, and Christy Lee married to Robert, John Vu married to Theresa, Henry Vu, Thai Lam married to Duyen, and Hoa Pham married to Diem. His fourteen grandchildren include Emily Arment married to Gregg, Amanda Ly, Christian Pham, Lauren Pham, Brandon Pham, Lily Pham, Justin Pham, Tyler Pham, Kyle Pham, Madison Pham, Ella Pham, Caitlyn Lee, Connor Lee, and Camryn Lee. Peter also has two great-grandchildren, Mauro Arment and Ayva Arment.

Peter fled North Vietnam at the age of twelve to seek a better life in South Vietnam. He lived with a family friend, worked hard in school, and graduated sixth in his class at a prestigious university, Quoc Gia Hanh Chanh, in South Vietnam. He met his wife (while submitting an application for a student whom he was tutoring) when he approached a group of three girls for help at their school. His future wife was eager to help, and Peter instantly fell in love with her. They had five children while living in Can Tho, where he served as Deputy Mayor of the province in South Vietnam. Peter said it was by the grace of God he met and married his wife.

As Deputy Mayor of South Vietnam, staying in Communist Vietnam after the Vietnam War in 1975 meant persecution, imprisonment, and even death, so Peter escaped communism a second time. However, he lost his wealth, status, home, and family in doing so.

At the early age of twelve, he left his own family, so he grew up without a family. His children and wife became his only family and were everything to him. When the family was apart for more than two years after the Vietnam war, he worked and prayed unceasingly for the family to reunite again. He dreamt that Saint Joseph told him, "Keep praying. With God, anything is possible". So, with unfailing faith, he laid a piece of furniture cloth (from his workplace) at the feet of Mother Mary and sent half back home, hoping the two parts of cloth would reunite again. After several failed attempts to escape Vietnam, with that piece of furniture cloth, his wife and her three young children would be able to escape Vietnam, reuniting the two pieces of cloth and the family in America. By itself, the pieces of cloth are just plain material used to fashion furniture. But, when combined with incredible faith, the cloth parts became an enduring hope and an unwavering trust that Mother Mary, Saint Joseph, and Jesus (the Holy Family) would reunite his family.

Peter fell in love with his wife when he first set his eyes on her, and his love for her only continued to grow throughout their fifty-six years of marriage. He lived his life loving his wife and children with all his heart and soul, never wanting to be apart from them. He put his wife first, not wanting her to work hard, and took care of his wife's needs even while his health was declining. Even to the very end, he took care of his wife's medications and only wanted her to know that he was okay when he was in the hospital. He loved them, prayed for them, and sacrificed for them even to the end.


Visitation:
Sunday, January 2nd, 2022
3 PM- 9 PM at Ofield

Monday, January 3rd, 2022
6 PM- 8 PM at Ofield

Tuesday, January 4th, 2022
Vigil and Reception at the Church: 10:00 AM
Funeral Mass: 11 AM

Our Lady of Lavang
2019 Porter SW
Wyoming, MI 49519 Service Details. Visitation
When: Sunday, January 2nd, 2022 3:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: Ofield Funeral Home
Address: 4500 Kalamazoo Avenue SE Kentwood, MI 49508

Second Visitation
When: Monday, January 3rd, 2022 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Ofield Funeral Home
Address: 4500 Kalamazoo Avenue SE Kentwood, MI 49508

Third Visitation
When: Tuesday, January 4th, 2022 10:00am - 11:00am
Location: Our Lady La Vang
Address: 2019 Porter St SW Wyoming, Michigan 49519

Service
When: Tuesday, January 4th, 2022 11:00am
Location: Our Lady La-Vang
Address: 2019 Porter Street SW Wyoming, Michigan 49519

Interment
Location: Resurrection Cemetery
Address:
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