Our beloved, Paul Nguyen Minh Tuan, was born to a teacher, Mr. Nguyen Thuc Hoi, and mother, Mrs. Pham Thi Lan, on June 2, 1957 in Hoi An in Central Vietnam. He was the third of eight brothers in his family. Due to circumstances in the Vietnam War, his parents migrated to the South where his father was reassigned to many cities such as Hue, Hoi An, Quang Nam, before finally settling in Phan Rang. Paul’s childhood was filled with memories with his family, teachers, and friends from the Boys School in Phan Rang and Duy Tan High School until South Vietnam fell in 1975.

In 1979, Paul fled Vietnam by boat with six of his seven brothers and his mother to Pulau Bidong Refugee Camp in Malaysia before settling in Orange County in 1980. He experienced the refugee life like many of the refugees among waves of Vietnamese boat people escaping Vietnam following the Vietnam War. Upon arrival to the U.S., he worked while attending Santa Ana College, later transferred to California State University in Fullerton, and graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree in 1985. Paul was active in the Vietnamese Students Association at CSUF.

After graduating from college, he worked as a Project Engineer at Endevco. While there, he devoted his time to the Catholic church and joined Catholic young adult groups such as Linh Thao in 1986. This is where he met the love of his life, Phan Thanh Huong Huyen, whom he married on January 6, 1990.

Paul later found his calling in real estate and founded RealtySavers Brokerage Company which is still active today. As a real estate broker, his honesty, integrity and compassion were the main tributes that attracted his clients for a successful and thriving business.

Paul and Huyen have two sons and two daughters who are two medical doctors, a pharmacist, and a nurse. Their children’s success is a testament to their parents’ sacrifices and modest lifestyle which allowed their children—Viet, Nhu, Nam, and Thuy—to be well supported academically.

As a result of Paul’s love for his children and desire to pass on the Catholic faith, he founded a young family group at Westminster Church called Gia Dinh Tre in 1996. Many members of this group formed lifelong friendships with Paul and his family.

Paul and Huyen enrolled their four children in a Vietnamese Boy and Girl Scouts troop called Lien Doan Chi Lang. They journeyed along with their children to earn the highest recognition in Boy and Girl Scouts: Viet and Nam received the Eagle Scout Award while Nhu and Thuy received the Gold Award. While supporting his children, he was president of the parents group in the troop. With two decades of involvement, Chi Lang became a family and a second home to Paul and his own family.

While still committed to those groups, he also served as the Secretary of the Parish Council at Westminster Blessed Sacrament Church in 1994 and also helped to organize a series of Vietnamese Youth Conferences from 2001 to 2012.

Over the years, he was the brother to bring family together for holidays and family gatherings. Even through his own illness, he was seen as the guiding beacon that carried his family through tough times. Paul always had infinite optimism and trust, despite his declining health. He never complained, accepted his fate, and fully trusted in God. Whenever he set his mind on a goal, nothing stopped him until he fulfilled his vision. He was the ambassador for his family near and far from different corners of the globe. The only thing that was missing from his life was his dream of visiting his parents’ birth places in Northern Vietnam. Unfortunately, his dream never came to fruition because of his illness and sudden passing.

Paul’s illness was discovered from his act of kindness when he tried to donate blood in 1996. From this act of kindness, he received a call from his doctor’s office for further evaluation. Paul was delivered the unfortunate news that he carried a diagnosis of Hemochromatosis. He received treatment silently over the years as to prevent his loved ones from worrying. Paul’s illness continued to progress and in 2020, he received news of the need for a bone marrow transplant due to Myelodysplastic Syndrome. By the blessing of God, our family had a brother with whom Paul was able to successfully receive his transplant at City of Hope in 2020. After a year of celebration, Paul unfortunately dealt with battles of rejection.

On November 13, 2022, Paul’s children organized a luncheon to celebrate the second anniversary of his bone marrow transplant. In attendance were his mother, mother-in-law, wife, children, extended family, and close friends at Morton’s Steakhouse in Costa Mesa. As his health continued to decline, Paul was hospitalized for ten days at City of Hope in Duarte. After much struggle, Paul passed away peacefully with Huyen and his four children at the bedside and brothers and extended family on Zoom.

Paul lived a life of bravery, kindness, sacrifice and loving all beyond his own—a legacy for all of us to model after.