Choy Thongvanh

Choy Thongvanh, age 90, of Storm Lake, Iowa died February 20, 2019 at Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake. Funeral services will be held Monday, February 25, 2019 at 3:30 p.m. at the Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake. Burial will be in the Storm Lake Cemetery on Tuesday, February 26, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. Visitation will take place Saturday, February 23, 2019 from 4-6:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements. Choy Quang Thi was born May 28, 1928 in Ban Laeng, Vietnam to parents, Air and Pieng. She married Sam Thongvanh in 1947. Political unrest led them to a refugee camp outside Hanoi before they eventually settled in Laos. She lived in Vientiane for 20 years, caring for her children and working on the family farm. Further unrest prompted her family to flee to the Nong Khai refugee camp in 1976. Six years later she came to America and was re-united with her oldest children in Storm Lake, Iowa. Choy settled into her new life. She loved gardening, spending countless hours outside tending to her vegetables. She also enjoyed sewing and knitting, hand-crafting traditional Thai Dam outfits from her homeland. But her real joy was her grandchildren. She cared for them when they were young and watched them grow into adults, get married, and have children of their own. They were the light of her life. Choy was preceded in death by her husband Sam, her sons Barry and Khamgung, and her grand-daughter Keo’. Those left to cherish her memory include her children: Houng (Khamlo) Khounlo of Storm Lake, Iowa; Viengkeo (Bounrong) Synarong of Storm Lake, Iowa; Khamfeung Thongvanh of Storm Lake, Iowa; Khamphiou (Somphou) Lonleanglith of Ontario, Canada; Toune (Curtis) Kemp of Bloomington, Minnesota; Khamla Baccam of Spencer, Iowa; Khamsouk Thongvanh of Storm Lake, Iowa; daughter-in-law: Bouen Thongvanh of Des Moines, Iowa; 24 grandchildren; 32 great grandchildren; 2 great-great grandchildren; her 2 sisters in Vietnam; and many, many extended family members and friends.

Choy Thongvanh

May 28, 1928 - February 20, 2019