Uncle Khankham Luangrath.

Uncle Khankham (Aih Moiht-Laos name)arrived in the U.S. soon after us at the age of 25. He is the brother to mom.

He braved the blizzard of 2/2011 to come and change the brakes in my car. Aih Moiht had always, always been there for me and my family. Like most activity, he likes to talk while he works.This afternoon I asked him to share with me his relationship with my dad. With a hint of sadness mixed with joy, we both struggled to talk about my father because we both weren't quite prepared to face the depth of this conversation. So, with his broken English and my broken Lao we talked. Aih Moiht shared that dad was a very kind, compassionate and generous man throughout his life up to the last days of his passing. His heart of generosity and mercy extended not just with family but community as well. He shared that soon after his graduation from high school, dad encouraged him to go to a mechanical school. With dad's blessing and full financial backing, he completed the training in 6 months. Soon after, dad was able to get him employment at the Lao International Airport. He also purchased him with a motorcycle for his commute to work. He worked at the airport until his escape out of Laos in 1979. He missed my dad very, very much. He voiced that dad was a very wonderful brother in law and mentor. He had confided in dad on various occasions and issues.

We talked about how dad had my Aunt's (mom's sister) house completely rebuilt. My aunt's house was completely burned down in a fire. She and my uncle had 7 children. Dad completedly paid for the entire house to be rebuilt. Dad hired Unlce Phoukham to manage one of our ranges and purchased a motorcyle for him as well after he graduated from high school.

Both Mom and dad had never been closed fisted with their money and resources. They hired a single mom with two children in our town to attend to the daily needs of our house. I still remember visiting the make shift house on stilt where they were living. And Of course there were two gentlemen dad had asked to be a live in help at our ranch.

Mom and dad carried out their philanthropy work faithfully and purposefully. Yearly, their donations to the town's temple were very sizable. They very often hosted a big ceremony and a parade as part of the ritual in giving to the temple. Often these gathering last for 2 - 3 days with foods and important guests who contributed to the giving. When the town needed a soccer team and a coach, dad not only funded the team but coached the team as well.