Loc Dinh Pham

Mr. Loc Dinh Pham passed away peacefully on Friday, August 30, 2024, in Washington, DC.

Mr. Pham was born October 10, 1934, in Hai Phong, Vietnam. He was the second child and only son of Tung Dinh Pham and Hao Thi Nguyen. As the son of a successful merchant, Mr. Pham was educated in the French schools and traditions of Hai Phong. He had planned to continue his education in Paris but in 1954 moved south to Saigon to preserve his opportunity to move to France before the country split apart. Soon after, his father died and his mother and two of his sisters moved south to be with him. He decided to remain in Saigon to provide for them. It was during this time in 1956 he met and married Vinh Hoang, his wife of 68 years and mother of their five children.

Shortly after his marriage Mr. Pham worked as an assistant to the Public Health Division of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) where he trained sanitary agents for establishing proper sanitation in rural areas of South Vietnam. Subsequently, Mr. Pham was drafted into the South Vietnamese Army and later served in the Army Reserves for four years as an officer. While serving in the reserves, Mr. Pham used his knowledge of English to become a byline reporter and later a columnist for the Saigon Daily News. Later he became a journalist and office manager for the Saigon office of United Press International (UPI) for the remainder of the war. At UPI he had the opportunity to know many politicians, diplomats, and friends from America and around the world. They often sought his counsel as they tried to understand the complexities of the Vietnamese culture and the divisions among its people. These relationships later proved vital. 

In 1975, as Saigon fell, the family fled their home outside Saigon to seek safety in the city. Leaving everything, they found a vacated two room apartment where they would remain for the next nine years. Resisting efforts to indoctrinate his family, he found instruction for his children in mathematics, English and French as well as art and music. Leveraging the relationships he developed while at UPI, he wrote his "miracle letter" which, using a circuitous route and vague references, informed his American friends of their whereabouts and desire to leave. After years of waiting, he received a response from the Thai embassy that his friends had successfully arranged for the family’s departure. On March 29, 1984, he and the family left Vietnam and six months later were welcomed into Frederick, MD, with the assistance of Calvary Methodist Church. With twenty dollars in his pocket and unwilling to accept help, he and the family immediately set about to provide for themselves. He oversaw the education and successful employment of each of his five children. He also graduated from Hood College where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and the French Language and later attended the Graduate Program in Environmental Biology. He was a health inspector for the State of Maryland for ten years and when he retired, he was living with the family in a fine suburban home, thoroughly satisfied with his slice of the American dream. 

During retirement, he lived a life of solitude where he reflected on life, painting, and writing his poetry as well as authoring two books about his life and Vietnamese culture. To be around him was to be the recipient of a lecture or two on the current "political situation" or his latest "theory" on history or culture. Despite his small stature, he was a man of immense determination and strong will. In his final moments, his last question was whether the sun was shining, and his last demand for the family was to gather around his bedside. He clung to life until he heard the voice of each of his children. Once he heard the sun was shining and his children were all safe, he knew his job on earth was done and he quietly passed.

Mr. Pham was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters. He is survived by his oldest sister Ky Thi Pham of Hai Duong, Vietnam, his wife Vinh of Washington, DC, his daughter Chi-Anh (Long Ha) of Frederick, daughter Anh-Ngan (Bang Do) of Hingham, MA, daughter Ngan-Tam (Dan Hollister), son Nam, and daughter Tam-Chinh (Scott Scholz) of Washington as well as six grandchildren, Minh, Anh Chi, Tam Uyen, Dan Anh, Olivia, and Anabelle. 

A private service will be held at Mt Olivet Cemetery in Frederick Maryland. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made in memory of Loc Pham to Calvary Methodist Church, 131 West 2nd St., Frederick, MD (https://calvaryumc.org/) or The Task Force for Global Health (https://www.taskforce.org/).