Linh Thi Nguyen

Linh Thi Nguyen was a nurse who dedicated 35 years of her life to caring for others in Oakland, California. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, she fled with her family during the war in 1975, arriving in the U.S. as a teenager with little more than hope. She worked her way through nursing school while raising two children, becoming a pillar of strength in her Vietnamese-American community. Linh had a gift for making patients feel seen, whether she was tending to a child with a fever or comforting an elderly patient in hospice. Her colleagues at the hospital called her 'Auntie Linh' for the way she’d bring homemade pho to share on long shifts. At home, she was the one everyone turned to for advice or a bandage, her calm presence a balm for any crisis. Her garden, full of jasmine and lemongrass, was her sanctuary, a little piece of Vietnam she nurtured. She passed away at 68 from complications of diabetes, a condition she managed quietly for years while still working double shifts. Her family and friends gathered in her garden for her memorial, scattering petals as they shared stories of her endless compassion. Her stethoscope hangs in her daughter’s home now, a reminder of a life spent healing.