April 2, 1956 ~ September 23, 2021
Nuk, also known by friends as “Gear”, was born in Pakse, Laos to Nam and Chou Huang. He came to the United States in the mid-1980s and became an American citizen working for a good life in the Land of Opportunities. He had a few marriages that didn’t work out before but he finally met Thonglay “Air” Manichanh in San Diego, California where they were both working at a restaurant. With Thonglay, Nuk had two daughters: Jenny and Emmy. He wanted the three of them to have a stable, uneventful life compared to the one he had been living in Arizona and California so he moved the family to Springdale, Arkansas per the advice of one of his best friends.
There in the Natural State of Arkansas, Nuk was able to go fishing and camping with his wife and daughters and live an easy-going life, watching Jenny and Emmy grow up. Nuk worked at Kawneer the entire time in Arkansas, driving forklifts and moving steel bundles and making lifelong friendships. He was a small man but very headstrong and hardworking. He worked at Kawneer up until retirement, a full 20 years of employment there, and after retiring he followed after his eldest daughter Jenny who had started working at Tinker Air Force Base and moved once more to Oklahoma City, OK.
The first major trip out of the U.S. since getting his citizenship was in 2018 to Laos to visit family and old friends. He was able to properly connect with his sister-in-law and the children of his older siblings who had passed before when he could not attend their funerals. Nuk was able to catch up with family and hear stories of his siblings who he hadn’t spoken to in a long time and he was able to show his daughters the place where he grew up and see how much it had changed throughout the years.
Nuk was someone who often asked “What’s the point in working yourself to the bone when life’s so short?” He would always make time to go fishing and camping with his family. If he didn’t enjoy his time now, how much could he enjoy things when he was old and unable to be as active? Nuk’s aim was never to make it big, it was just to have a comfortable life where he got to enjoy it and be happy.
Nuk will be well-remembered by his family and all the friends he has made over the course of his 65 years of life. May his next life be as successful and full of unconditional love as this one.