THE DEATH OF JOHN AN NGUYEN

Rev. John An Nguyen, a retired Associate Reformed Presbyterian minister who, with his family, fled Vietnam when Saigon fell to the Communists in 1975 and later developed the only ARP Vietnamese church in the United States, died October 26 in Stockton, California, at age 80.

Born in Laos in a Buddhist home, Nguyen became a Christian at 15 years of age and his family disowned him. He responded to the call to serve God full-time and was educated for the ministry in Da Nang, Vietnam. Both Nguyen and his wife Ruth served as missionaries and in the pastorate in Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. When Saigon fell to the Communists, the Nguyen family escaped in a small fishing boat, were picked up by an American war ship, and eventually came to the United States.

Known as Pastor An, Nguyen was received into Catawba Presbytery March 12, 1978. He began and worked with the Vietnamese Christian ARP Mission in Columbia, S.C., until late 1984, when he and his wife moved to California to work among the Vietnamese and Laotian residents there. He remained a member of Catawba Presbytery, laboring outside of its boundaries.

The Columbia mission was closed by Catawba Presbytery November 18 of that year because many of the members had previously moved away, many of them preceding their pastor to California.

Pastor An retired July 1, 1990, when he was 70, but he continued to minister and witness as long as his health permitted. About three years ago he suffered a massive stroke and heart attack; as a result he was confined at home usually in bed or a wheelchair.

In addition to his widow, Pastor An is survived by their daughter and two sons.