Tha Vanthavong was born April 3, 1923 in Vientiane, Laos. She was a middle child of 7 other siblings.She had 2 older brothers, 2 older sisters, 2 younger brothers, and 1 younger sister. At the age of 23, she married a high ranking soldier in the Royal Lao Army, Leaung Vanthavong. In 1957, they had their only child, a son, named Von. In 1967, her husband was killed during the Vietnam War after communist invasion into Laos. During that time, in addition to the North Vietnamese invasion, Laos was also fighting a civil war known as the "secret war", aided by the United States, France, and Thailand, fearing the spread of communism throughout the country. In 1980, Tha stayed behind while' her son, his wife, and oldest grandson escaped to the United States during Communist rule.

In November of 1988, Tha was finally able to leave Laos to be reunited with her family in the United States. In Tha's leisure, she loved gardening and enjoyed spending time planting and growing crops in the backyard. In 1991, Tha and her family established permanent residency in St. Charles, MN.

Tha Vanthavong was extremely blessed. She was born April 3, 1923 and departed this life on May 20, 2012 in Rochester, MN. She leaves to cherish her memory to one son; Von Vanthavong, a daughter-in?law; Boua Vanthavong, three grandsons; Sy, Sieng, and Kevin; and four great-grandchildren; Kaivion, Amara, Lila, and Kaizik.

**Grandma, we will always carry your memory in our hearts forever**