Lien Le

Maria Le Thi Lien (also known as Huyen) was born on June 20, 1926, in Tieu Dong, Huyen Binh Luc District, Ha Nam Province – North Viet Nam to John Le Van Đăng and Maria Le Thi Đốc. She has one brother and 5 older sisters, all deceased. Lien’s father passed away from sickness when she was 12 years old. Four years later her mother followed suit, leaving her orphaned at the tender age of 16. The family of girls was unable to care for their youngest sister. So a kind local priest arranged for Lien to join the Lovers of the Holy Cross Order at So Kien. She lived with this community for three years. It was the Order, by custom, who changed her name from Huyên to Liên, and she went by that name ever since. Only her relatives in Tiêu Động remember her as “cô Huyên”. Besides the religious values, community life brought a blessing to her where she befriended another nun, who later became her best friend, sister, and the children’s adopted grandma, Le Thi Hoang A. During the 1954 French-Indochina war, Ms. Lien met her husband through a priest’s introduction. He blessed their marriage, and together with grandma Hoang, they fled to South Vietnam as a result of the Geneva Conference agreement, dividing Vietnam into two sections. They relocated to the capital of South Vietnam, the formerly Sai-gon city, and were blessed with six more children. By April 1975, another terrible twist in the geopolitical history of South East Asia occurred, splitting her family. Lien had to leave Vietnam and seek refuge in the land of opportunity, the United States of America. Through Catholic Charity, the kindness of St. George priests, Fr. Bob Strittmatter and Fr. Quang Chu, and parishioners, Lien, and her family settled in Fort Worth as refugees. With grandma Hoang’s help, they successfully raised five children, while helping out her husband and sons in Vietnam as much as possible. Then sadly grandma Hoang passed away suddenly at the age of 88, from congestive heart failure and breast cancer. Lien lived a full life, overcoming many struggles. Yet her faith remained steadfast in the Lord. She humbly served the community of Christ the King in various apostolates. In her late 80’s, parishioners could find a petite old lady with a walker, slowly making her way across Yucca Ave toward the church, hot or cold. The only thing that has stopped her from attending church in person was the pandemic. The love for the Eucharist and the Rosary prayers are like the pillars of faith. She used to pray the rosary in the car while heading to work with her friend. Then in the evening, she would gather her children to pray the rosary as a family. This virtuous act continues even to near death. She persists in praying the rosary during the day and viewing the live-streamed Masses without tedium. Lien loved her children, grandchildren, and relatives. Even in her 90’s, she still wanted to cook for them as they gathered to visit her. She truly lived a motto of God first, and family second, even to the last breath. Before the Year of the Tiger Tet (02/01/22), she urged her daughter to call up everybody to come to the house on the 6th of February for a traditional celebration. On that same morning, the Good Lord called her home. Lien died very peacefully during her sleep around 3:45 am. She will be missed dearly. Lien is survived by five children – Vien D Ta (Vietnam), Thanh TaNguyen, Tina Ta-Dinh, Thien Ta, and Nhiem Ta along with many grandchildren and greatgrandchildren as well as relatives and friends here in Ft Worth