Minh Anh Nguyen

Nguyen Anh Minh,85, of Falls Church, VA passed away on July 15, 2025. Anh Minh was born on January 1, 1940 in Phu Xuan, Vietnam to Nguyen Van Tri and Nguyen Thi Phai.

Anh Minh was orphaned at an early age and learned quickly to fend for himself, having been juggled between his relatives. He survived by learning to fix cars, a skill that would become his lifelong vocation. His cleverness and intelligence caught the attention of Tri Van Chin and his wife, Phung Thi Dang, tea plantation owners who adopted him. From this patriarch he learned to become a skillful businessman.

Anh Minh wed his wife, Mai Kim Loan in 1970 and they had four children together. In 1979 in the aftermath of the devastation of the Vietnam War, Minh made the life-altering decision to escape Vietnam with his family to America. Vietnam was no longer the home he cherished, and he wanted a better life for himself and his family. With four young children and few possessions Anh Minh, his wife and her brother were among the thousands of boat people seeking asylum from the atrocities of post war Vietnam. The journey to America was not an easy one, they were waylaid in a refugee camp in Indonesia for a year where Anh Minh used his English-speaking skills to gain favor with authorities. In 1980 the family was finally approved immigration to the United States. There they were reunited with Anh Minh's adopted sisters, Tri Thi Phan and Tri Thuy Hoa.

In his early days in America, with his only resource being his skill as a mechanic, Anh Minh would travel highways and roads offering help to stranded travelers in exchange for whatever help they were willing to give him. From this very humble beginning and through many years of sacrifice and hard work, he eventually opened his own mechanic shop and later, a body shop in which he continued to work until he passed.

Anh Minh was a staunch believer that education was the foundation for advancement in life and made certain that his children were properly educated. He worked tirelessly to put his children through Catholic school and college.

Anh Minh was an avid tennis player, a graceful ballroom dancer and a beloved member of the Vietnamese community in Northern Virginia.

He is survived by his wife, Mai Kim Loan, a son, three daughters, two sons-in-law, a daughter in-law and eleven grandchildren. He will be truly missed.