Nao Phia Thao
Nao Phia Thao passed away on June 12, 2019, from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Fond du Lac, WI, at the age of 67. Nao Phia Thao, was born in Vietnam on July 11, 1951. He married his wife, Shua Vang, at the age of 18. They had six children of which three passed away at an early age.
Nao was born in Phi Tong, Vietnam. He completed an Associates Degree and worked as a nurse in the hospital. Nao was fluent in five languages; his native language, Hmong, along with Vietnamese, Laotian, French, and English.
Nao served in the Vietnam War from 1969-1975 in the CIA’s Special Guerrilla Unit as a Lieutenant. He received four medals of service. Nao lost both his parents during the war. Nao and his wife fled to Thailand to escape the Communist persecution in Laos. On January 6, 1980, Nao and his family immigrated to the United States and resided in Philadelphia, PA. He was employed as a welder. In 1984, Nao and his family moved to Minnesota and later settled in Fond du Lac, WI.
Nao loved to fish, hunt, and garden and would spend countless days caring for his garden making sure his crop was growing well. Nao also loved spending time with his seven grandchildren, but most of all, he loved spending time with his wife. Nao and his wife traveled back to Vietnam and Laos several times to visit his family. Their last trip to Vietnam was in July of 2017.
He is survived by his spouse Shua, daugthers May Thao (Sam Phommathep), Nancy Thao (Tou Keng Vue), Melina Thao (Jackson Her), 7 grandchildren, Asia Phommethep, Evalynn Phommethep, Kailyr Phommethep, Adelyn Phommathep, Seiji Vue, Violet Vue, and Meson Her. He was loved by all of his families here in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Vietnam. He was a man of virtue and great knowledge. He was kind hearted and loved everyone. He will be greatly missed by those that knew him.
A Time of Gathering will be held from Saturday, June 22, 2019 from 8:00 AM at the Twohig Funeral Home, 305 Fond du Lac Ave. Fond du Lac until Monday, June 24, 2019 at 9:00 AM.
Burial will be Monday, June 24th around 10:00 AM at Calvary Cemetery.
The Twohig Funeral Home is serving the family with online condolences and guestbook at www.twohigfunerals.com.