MARIE MADELEINE KIM MINH THI DINH

After a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer, Marie Madeleine Kim Minh Thi Dinh passed away peacefully on Friday July 2, 2021 at her home in Elk Grove surrounded by her loved ones at the age of 88. 

Born May 14, 1933 in Nam Dinh, Vietnam, to parents Mr. and Mrs. Sinh Van Dinh (better known as Mr. and Mrs. “Tham Sinh”).  She is survived by her loving husband of 55 years Can Ngoc Phan, and their 2 children, Daughter Catherine Trang Phan, Son Phillip Trung The Phan and Grandson Vincent Minh Quan Thach.  She is also survived by two older sisters, Kim Dinh Thi Dinh of Saigon, Vietnam, Tinh Thi Dinh of Huntington Beach; two younger sisters, Kim Thanh Dinh and Kim Thu Dinh of Hanoi, Vietnam; and younger brother Long Dinh of Huntington Beach. She has many nephews and nieces and their children and grandchildren.

Kim Minh was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, great aunt, great great aunt and friend. If you knew her you would know how much she loved her family, her extended family and friends. She was known as a hardworking and intelligent person with so many other great qualities. She was noble, gentle, tolerant, kind and generous. She was very elegant and had a great sense of fashion.

She was a high-powered and popular attorney in the 1970s in Saigon, South Vietnam where she had her own law firm with two other female attorneys. She won many high-profile cases including an international case that spanned several continents to find the real long-lost daughter named Martine in Saigon for the Central African Republic Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa. The case was featured globally in numerous French and other international publications. After she could no longer practice law due to the change in regime in 1975, she became a teacher until moving to Sacramento as a refugee with her family in 1990. She was involved with a lot of charities and professional organizations with the Vietnamese American community in Sacramento and beyond.

Kim Minh loved music and was classically trained and a talented pianist. She played piano frequently at home. As an older person, she was very tech-savvy who used social media. She used Facebook, Viber and Skype to keep in touch with her extended family and friends.

Viewing, funeral services and burial will be held at East Lawn Elk Grove Memorial Park & Mortuary while the funeral mass will be held at the Vietnamese Martyrs Church in Sacramento.

Viewing and Prayer: July 23^rd 2021, 4-8 PM
Chapel - East Lawn Elk Grove Memorial Park & Mortuary
9189 East Stockton Blvd, Elk Grove, CA 95624

Funeral Mass & Burial July 24^th, 2021

• Funeral Mass: July 24th, 2021, 8:00-9:00 AM (Live webcast available by clicking on the “LiveStream Mass” link on the church’s homepage at: http://www.cttd.org/)
  Vietnamese Martyrs Church
  8181 Florin Rd, Sacramento, CA 9582