Sister Phan Vu, OP, of the Dominican Sisters, Sparkill, New York, died on April 19, 2017 in in Siena Hall, Sparkill, NY.
Born in Vietnam, Sister Phan came to the Dominican Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary on August 14, 1975 having fled Vietnam by boat in April 1975. In Vietnam, Sister was a member of the Congregation of St. Catherine of Siena where she professed her first vows in April 1962 and her final vows in April 1968.
Sister Phan received a BS in Social Science from St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, NY in 1987.
From 1962-1975 Sister Phan was a teacher in St. Mary’s Elementary School, Saigon. After coming to the United States, she served from 1978-1980 as a bilingual teacher for the Catholic Community Services in Newark, NJ. Sister Phan worked as a social worker for the Resettlement Office in New York (1981-1986). From 1987-2002 Sister Phan was a case worker for St. Vincent Services in Brooklyn, NY, along with working in the Infant-Toddler Care Program at St. Rita’s Center for Immigrant and Refugee Services, Bronx, NY. From 2002-2004 she served as an interpreter for Vietnamese people in Lansdale, PA and from 2006-2009 ministered in Sioux City, IA at Sacred Heart School before retiring to Dominican Convent.
Sister Phan is survived by her brother, Thuan Vu, and a niece, Linh Vu, who reside in Florida, and by family who continue to reside in Vietnam.
Sister Phan Vu was a compassionate person. She served her God faithfully for over fifty-five years as a Dominican Sister of St. Catherine of Siena and Dominican Sister of Sparkill. We thank God for her life and her goodness and we pray she be brought swiftly into the fullness of joy in the presence of the God she loved and so faithfully served. We will miss her presence among us.