Our family is heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved mother, Samath Vaing, who left us on May 19, 2026 at the age of 79. She was the absolute cornerstone of our family—a woman of unimaginable strength, boundless love, and a true hero.

Our mother survived one of the darkest chapters in human history to protect her family. During the late 1970s, she endured the unfathomable horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime and the Cambodian Killing Fields. Amidst starvation, constant terror, and forced labor, her singular focus was keeping her three small children alive. With immense courage and sheer will, she managed to escape the war-torn country, guiding her young children through perilous terrain and unimaginable danger to reach safety. She carried her children, shared her meager rations, and shielded them from violence. Her bravery during that escape was nothing short of miraculous, and it is the sole reason our family survived.

To her children, she was our hero. Her life was defined by the quiet, fierce sacrifices she made every single day to ensure her family had a brighter future. She routinely put her own dreams, comforts, and needs on the back burner, choosing instead to pour all of her energy, time, and love into her children.

Her greatest victory, and her proudest joy, was seeing her family thrive. She looked at our achievements as the ultimate fulfillment of her sacrifice. She was immensely proud to see her children graduate with bachelor’s and master’s degrees and build successful businesses. Her eyes would light up with pure joy knowing that her legacy of hard work lives on in her grandchildren. 

Her greatest joy is knowing that the children she carried out of a war zone not only survived, but went on to build beautiful, impactful lives, was the true reward of her life's journey. What an incredible, beautiful family legacy.  My mother did not just save her children; she laid the foundation for a family of entrepreneurs, scholars, healers, creators, and changemakers. Every single one of these achievements is a direct reflection of her heroic sacrifice.

She is survived by her proud children, Samnang and Julie, Chanmoni and Corey and Veasna and Peijen; her cherished grandchildren, Aaron, Alex, Chase, Edward, Jenna, Nicholas, Nicole, Melanie and Vincent.  And her adopted family, Annie, Benjamin and Charlie.