San Phou of Lowell, MA

San Phou, 93, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving children on Sunday June 5, 2022.  He was born on February 1, 1929 to the late Mr. Kry Phou and the late Mrs. Roeum Soy, in Kampong Seima village in Battambang province, Cambodia. He was the first-born son and the oldest of nine children, with six younger brothers and two sisters. His parents were rice farmers and gardeners, where they farmed on their ancestors’ land for generations before the war in the 1970s.

The young Phou was sent to a parochial school at a local commune temple. At an early age he studied under his spiritual teacher/master, the late Venerable So Chit of Vatt Kor temple, who was also the first cousin of the late Mrs. Roeum Soy. He was later ordained as a Buddhist monk where he studied Buddhist scripture (Pali, Sanskrit), math, science, morality, history, Khmer literacy and more.  He also studied Thai language.

Mr. Phou married his first love, Ms. Kimheang Eap, with whom he would celebrate their 60^th anniversary this coming fall.  They have seven children together, six daughters and one son, plus 10 grandchildren.

The late Mr. Phou and Mrs. Kimheang Eap and their surviving children immigrated to America on April 14, 1984, resettling in Brooklyn, New York through a sponsoring of his younger sister, Ms. Bunhiek Phou and a local church in Brooklyn, NY. They were former refugees escaping from the war-torn Cambodia in the early 1980s.  They stayed in the refugee camps for nearly four years before emigrating to America.  They were survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime in the mid-1970 where they lost many relatives, valuable possessions, property and community members from their home village.

Despite experiencing much heartbreak from the loss of his family members, war, and hardship from migrating to a new country, Mr. Phou was a kind, loving and respectable person. He had been taking care of his wife who have been paralyzed from three major strokes for the last thirty years, till his own sickness overtook his ability to care for her during the last several years.

Both the late San Phou and Mrs. Kimheang Eap have been in the care of their children, living primarily with the help of their eldest daughter, Sina Phou and her husband, Samkhann Khoeun, and also younger daughter, Phany Phou, for the past 20+ years.

Besides his wife, Kimheang Eap, many others live on after him, including his younger sister, Bunhiek Phou, of Brookly, NY, a younger Brother, Rith Phou, of Battambang in Cambodia, plus their children and children-in-law: Sina and Samkhann Khoeun of Lowell, Tinrath and Salorn So of Springfield, VA; Sinath and Sovannarith Khin of Tyngsboro, Phany and Chanty Phou of Lowell, Kongkea Phou of Virginia, and Savdy and Sara Phou of Chicago, Illinois, plus 10 grandchildren: Vathana, Kalyanee, Sopheanee and Chandaranee Khoeun; James and George So; Ronald Khin; Sothearith and Soriya Un and Amara Phou and many more nieces and nephews in the US along with his native country, Cambodia.

Mr. Phou was very proud of his children’s and grandchildren’s education and upbringing. He enjoyed gardening until his illness made it more difficult. San was a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather.

FUNERAL NOTICE

Visiting hours Wednesday, June 8 from 2-4 P.M. at DOLAN FUNERAL HOME, 106 MIDDLESEX STREET, N. CHELMSFORD, MA. Traditional Buddhist Funeral Service on Wednesday evening and Thursday, June 9, 8 A.M. at Vatt Khmer Lowell-Khmer, 66 Townsend Ave., Lowell, followed by a procession to Merrimack Crematory. ARRANGEMENTS BY DOLAN FUNERAL HOME 978-251-4041. Guestbook at www.dolanfuneralhome.com