Remembering Kim Pham, Publisher of Northwest Vietnamese News and My Father

by Julie Pham

My father, Kim Pham, was on his feet for the last time two Thursdays ago. Thursday is when the newspaper is prepared for the printer so that it can hit the streets on Friday. He was at his computer, putting the finishing touches on the front page. He loved this job, something he had been doing since he founded Northwest Vietnamese News in 1986. The next morning, when my brother brought him the print edition, he said, "the cover is beautiful. Let's work on the next one." That was the last cover page my father designed. He passed in his sleep this past Tuesday, March 30.

For as long as I can remember, the newspaper was like another child, a fourth sibling to my two younger brothers, Andy and Don, and I. He took so much joy in elevating other people's stories, especially those of younger Vietnamese Americans pursuing art, writing, journalism, and community-building work. I think he saw a younger version of himself in them.

My father loved sharing stories of our refugee community because he believed we as Vietnamese have much to be proud of — that we accomplished so much in the short time we've been in America. Before the pandemic, he would run around to different community events — sometimes three in one evening — and take photos. He especially loved showcasing grand openings of new Vietnamese-owned businesses and the reunions of Vietnamese veterans and classmates. He wanted to highlight positive-news and was careful to maintain a balanced tone.

My father shied away from the spotlight himself. He preferred to promote others. A few years ago, he wanted to throw a reception to celebrate the publication of my book on the South Vietnamese military perspective. I resisted. I only agreed when he said, "The party isn't for you. It's for me and the newspaper, but I don't want to say that.'' He organized a sold-out reception with his best friend, the writer Quoc Bao Pham, professor Quyen Di, and favorite singers, Melanie NgaMy Tran and Cecilia Bach who flew in to Seattle to share the stage.

Last December, he had a mild heart attack and the doctors discovered an inoperable aneurysm in his stomach. We were told he only had a few days, a few weeks left to live when we brought him home. He beat their expectations by four months. I moved back into my childhood home. We all lived together for the first time in over 20 years. Growing up, my parents worked all the time at the newspaper. Now that we were all working from home, we ate meals together every day, cooked lovingly by my mom and Don. My father told us often, "I have never been happier in my life."

The only role Kim Pham loved more than being a newspaper publisher was being a father. He never pressured us to get high-paying jobs like many other Vietnamese parents. We felt he saw the light in each of us and wanted to do whatever he could to make us shine brighter. He was encouraging, gentle, and generous. He told us how proud he was of us, all the time. And he did that for our friends and so many others too. He would always ask about my Vietnamese American friends, listening for angles he could take to promote them in the newspaper.

He stayed alive long enough so he could properly honor in the newspaper his friends, like Dr. Dung Xuan Nguyen and Mr. Ben Tran along with Khoa Pham, co-owner of Pho Bac, who died too young. He held on to see Tommy Le's family get justice.

I also encouraged my father to write his memoir. In the past, the thought of writing a memoir felt too self-promotional to him. Then he realized he could promote other people. Before he got too weak, he would stay up late at night and wake up early in the morning to write. We often talked about the stories he remembered. He wrote by hand, then photographed his manuscript and his assistant editor, Dong Phuong Le would type it out. His memories flowed into weekly essays appearing in the newspaper. The memoir is set to be published by Khai Tri Publishing.

People have been asking what they can do. If you have memories of my father, please share them with us. We will include these stories in his memoir.

Featured Image: Kim Pham and Julie Pham working at Northwest Vietnamese News office in 2010. (Photo: Don Pham)

Vietnamese version:

World, I have sad news to share with you. My beloved father, Kim Pham, passed away in his sleep, peacefully and without pain, on Tuesday evening, March 30. Though he was a very public figure as the publisher of the longest running Vietnamese newspaper in the Northwest, he was an incredibly private person who didn't want people to know he had been diagnosed with an inoperable and terminal aneurysm back in early Dec. He didn't want people to worry. The past four months my family had with my father felt blessed. The quality time was an unexpected gift. He enjoyed simple meals with us, working on the newspaper, writing his memoir, and talking to his friends on the phone. My father told us often, "Trong cu™c 'ời B' cha bao giờ thấy vui hn lc n y." (I've never been happier in my life.) I told him often, "Bọn con rất vui 'ợc bn cạnh B'." (We are so happy to be with you, father.)

B' ti, ng Phạm Kim, ' 'ứng dậy lần cu'i v o ng y thứ Nm tuần tr›c. Thứ Nm l lc tờ bo chuẩn bị 'ợc 'a 'ến nh in 'ể thứ Su pht h nh. B' ' ở bn my vi tnh của B', chỉnh sa lần cu'i cho trang nhất 'ợc ho n hảo. B' yu thch cng việc n y, cng việc m B' ' l m từ khi m›i th nh lập tờ bo Ngời Việt Ty Bắc v o nm 1986. Sng hm sau, khi em trai ti mang bản in 'ến trao tận tay B', B' ni: "Ba 'ẹp qu. Hy tiếp tục l m nh vậy v o tuần t›i". l trang ba cu'i cng m B' ti thiết kế.

Tờ bo gi'ng nh 'ứa con của B' ti, l 'ứa em thứ t của ti v hai em trai, Andy v Don. B' rất vui khi 'ề cao những cu chuyện của ngời khc, 'ặc biệt l chuyện của những ngời Mỹ g'c Việt trẻ tuổi theo 'uổi cng việc nghệ thuật, viết vn, bo ch v xy dng c™ng '"ng. Ti ngh B' ' nhn thấy m™t phin bản trẻ hn của chnh mnh trong '.

B' ti thch chia sẻ những cu chuyện về c™ng '"ng ngời tị nạn của chng ta, v B' tin rằng ngời Việt Nam c nhiều 'iều 'ng t h o, rằng chng ta ' 'ạt 'ợc rất nhiều th nh tch trong thời gian ngắn ở Mỹ. Tr›c khi 'ại dịch xảy ra, B' thờng theo 'uổi cc s kiện c™ng '"ng khc nhau, 'i khi B' 'ến cả ba ni trong m™t buổi chiều 'ể tham d v chụp ảnh. B' 'ặc biệt yu thch việc triển khai cc hoạt '™ng khai trng của những doanh nghiệp m›i do ngời g'c Việt l m chủ, những buổi h™i ng™ của cu chiến binh Việt Nam C™ng Ha v bạn học c. B' mu'n l m nổi bật những tin tức tch cc v cẩn thận giữ s trung dung trong việc 'a tin.

B' t trnh xa nh 'n sn khấu. B' thch 'ề cao ngời khc. Cch 'y v i nm, B' mu'n tổ chức tiệc chiu 'i 'ể k niệm việc xuất bản cu'n sch của ti về quan 'iểm chiến tranh VNCH. Ti khng mu'n l m. Ti chỉ '"ng khi B' ni: "Bữa tiệc khng phải d nh cho con. l bữa tiệc d nh cho B' v tờ bo, nhng B' khng mu'n ni 'iều '." Hm ' c những bạn thn nhất của b' 'ến từ ni xa, chẳng hạn nh nh vn Phạm Qu'c Bảo, gio s Quyn Di, ca s Melanie Nga My v Cecila Bach.

V o thng 12 nm ngoi, B' bị m™t cn 'au tim nhẹ v cc bc s ' pht hiện ra m™t kh'i u trong dạ d y m họ khng thể phẫu thuật. Cc bc s ni v›i chng ti rằng B' chỉ cn s'ng 'ợc v i ng y, v i tuần sau khi chng ti 'a B' về nh . B' s'ng thm b'n thng. Ti chuyển về nh ni ti s'ng su't thời th ấu của mnh. Tất cả chng ti ' s'ng cng nhau d›i m™t mi nh , lần 'ầu tin sau hn 20 nm. Từ lc ti cn b 'ến trởng th nh, b' mẹ ti l m việc su't thời gian ở ta bo. By giờ chng ti 'ều l m việc tại nh , chng ti dng bữa cng nhau m—i ng y. B' thờng ni v›i chng ti: "Trong cu™c 'ời B' cha bao giờ thấy vui hn lc n y."

Vai tr duy nhất m B' ti yu thch nhiều hn việc xuất bản bo ch, ' l l m cha. B' khng bao giờ gy p lc cho chng ti 'ể c 'ợc những cng việc lng cao. Chng ti c cảm tởng B' nhn thấy 'ợc s thng tiến trong tng lai của m—i 'ứa con v mu'n l m bất cứ 'iều g c thể 'ể khiến cc con tỏa sng hn. B' khuyến khch, nhẹ nh ng v bao dung. V B' ' l m 'iều ' cho bạn b của chng ti v rất nhiều ngời khc nữa. B' lun hỏi về những ngời bạn Việt Mỹ của ti, lắng nghe mọi kha cạnh 'ể quảng b cho họ.

Tr›c lc yn nghỉ khng bao lu, B' ' c' gắng 'ể c thể vinh danh những ngời bạn của mnh, nh bc s Nguy…n Xun Dng v ng Trần Ph›c Bền, cng s ra 'i '™t ng™t của Khoa Nguy…n. B' cn kịp chứng kiến gia 'nh Tommy Le lấy lại cng bằng — việc m B' quan tm rất nhiều từ 4 nm qua. Xem nh B' ' ho n th nh sứ mệnh của B'.

B' ti ' bắt tay v o thc hiện cu'n h"i k của ng ấy, do Nh xuất bản Khai Tr ấn h nh. B' viết bằng tay, sau ' chụp ảnh bản thảo của mnh v L ng Phng ' 'nh my. K ức của B' chảy v o cc b i luận h ng tuần. Nhiều ngời ' hỏi, họ c thể gip g? Hy chia sẻ những chuyện vui, 'ng nh› của qu vị về B' ti v›i chng ti. Chng ti sẽ 'a những cu chuyện ấy v o cu'n h"i k của B' ti.