Dieu Tong

Dieu Van Tong passed away on November 1, 2017 peacefully in his home in Trussville, AL. He is survived by his wife, Bach Tran (Trussville), his sister Hoang Oanh Tong (Saigon, VN), his brothers Hien Van Tong (Pelham) and Hao Van Tong (Annandale, VA), his sons Giang Tong (Berlin, GER) and Lam Thach Tong (B'ham), and his grandchildren Magdalena, Lauryn, Eastman, Raimi and Neeson. Dieu was born in 1942 in Hoi An, VN. After earning a Bachelor in Vietnamese Literature and Bachelor of Teaching Methodology degrees from the College of Pedagogy in Hue in 1964, he became a passionate teacher. He taught at numerous high schools both public and private from 1965 to 1972. Among those were Vo Tanh High School, Tran Qui Cap High School, Hoi An High School for Girls and Bo De Private School. In 1972, he received a scholarship to attend George Peabody College for Teachers (now Vanderbilt University) where he earned his Master of Library Science degree in 1974. He returned to Vietnam and worked at the National Library in Saigon until leaving for the United States again in 1975. His years in the States were marked with 33 years of service at the University of Alabama-Birmingham's Mervyn Sterne Library until his retirement in 2008. Dieu was an avid reader, an occasional contributor of articles to Vietnamese language publications, and a huge collector of films, snow globes, trains and Charlie Brown. Thru his efforts with the Vietnamese refugee resettlement, he was a well-respected leader among the Vietnamese community both in Alabama and in his home country throughout his life. Visitation will be held Saturday, November 4th from 6pm to 8pm at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home in Trussville and the Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, November 5th at noon. Interment will follow the memorial service at Jefferson Memorial Gardens East.