Obituary of Tom Tran
Tom Tran, also known as Tam Tran( his Vietnamese name), was the second oldest of eight in the family. He had an older sister whose name is Cuc Tran, 3 younger sisters whose names are Hong Tran, Anh Tran, Yen Tran and 3 younger brothers whose names are Long Tran, Oanh Tran, Vu Tran, and many nieces and nephews in Vietnam and in the United States. His parents passed away when he was about 20 years old in Vietnam. His dad was Tran Van Mung and his mother was To Thi Sinh. Being the oldest male in the house, he had to quit school to try and find any job in order to provide food for his siblings. It was very hard for him, but he was determined to do anything from selling ice cream, giving rides for people on a tricycle, cleaning people’s houses, etc, to take care of his family. He did this for almost a decade. He worked so hard for very little money because business was so bad in Vietnam then that it became impossible to financially support his family any longer. He along with a few of his very close friends bought a river boat to secretly plan to escape Vietnam in hopes of a better life. It was certainly a life & death trip to the unknown…. on a river boat to the oceans. He only took his younger brother, Oanh Tran, on this very dangerous trip. He was very weak but had to stay strong to care for a very ill brother, Oanh… He, Oanh, along with his friends on the boat kept praying. Luckily, they were captured by a Malaysian fishing boat where they were taken to the refugee camp. Tom’s only goal was to get to America. Long story short, he and his brother, Oanh got to America in 1987. He spoke broken English but was determined to work on anything to help his siblings in Vietnam and went to school. Here in America, Tom and Oanh had so much help from Susie Zaliwski and her husband who were Tom’s mother-in-law’s sister who use to live in the same village in Vietnam. Tom worked very hard and attended a vocational school and graduated with a degree in HVAC. He bought a used van and started his own business, T&K Refrigeration. He had so many customers and everyone loved him. Tom passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife, My Tran, his son, Kevin Tran, his son’s wife, Migelanne. His brother Oanh, his sister-in-law, April and his nephews, Tyler and Ryan. His sister Cuc Tran, Hong Tran, Anh Tran, Yen Tran. His brothers LongTran He had an older sister whose name is Cuc Tran, 3 younger sisters whose names are Hong Tran, Anh Tran, Yen Tran and 3 younger brothers whose names are Long Tran, Oanh Tran, Vu Tran, Oanh Tran, Vu Tran. His brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Nhan and Lan Nguyen, who Tom called his blood brother and sister. (They had helped him so much!) Their daughter and her husband, Dalena and John Stockton.
Visitation will be held at Middlesex Funeral Home, 528 Bound Brook Road, Middlesex, NJ 08846 on Sunday, July 9, 2023 from 10:00am until 1:00pm. At the request of Tom's family, Funeral services and mausoleum entombment at Resurrection Burial Park will be held privately.