Our dearest mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Mrs. Đỗ Thị Ngọc Quyên (née Phạm), peacefully passed away on August 26, 2025, in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 87.

She was born on August 17, 1939, in Hai Phong, Vietnam, to Mr. Phạm Xuân Dung and Mrs. Phạm Thị Sửu. She graduated high school among the top of her class in Mathematics, a rare feat at the time for a female student. She initially wanted to pursue a degree in Pharmacy and after getting married, she became a high school mathematics teacher and was very loved and respected by her students. She would spend her evenings and weekends to tutor students who needed extra help and also passed on these extra lessons to her own children (no excuses for being bad at math!). When hard times struck in Vietnam after April 1975, she went above and beyond to make ends meet for her family, bicycling from market to market across the city in the evenings to sell textiles and small food items while simultaneously holding her teaching job in the day. After immigrating with her family to Canada in 1980, she worked in general factory jobs, then became a self-taught seamstress, running a textile and tailor shop in Toronto’s Chinatown. Her entrepreneur mindset originated from her early days where she learned knitting from her grandmother and accompanied her in selling their craft in the neighborhood. In spite of her impressive career history, she never ended up getting her G driver’s license despite taking many driving lessons. Her children believe she simply figured out the life hack for easy transportation: “Why drive when you can be chauffeured everywhere instead?”.

Throughout her life she was a brave female role model, known for her unconditional love, support, perseverance, patience and devotion to her husband and family in Toronto and abroad. She proofread her husband’s books, traveled with her husband to his book launching events, visited her family overseas, and took care of her eleven grandchildren in their early years. They will forever remember sandwiches filled with cooked shredded pork (ruốc), marmalade, or Nutella, Maria cookies, trips to Pacific Mall, YTV and sweet lullabies before nap time. She loved listening to music and watching sports, especially tennis, hockey, and soccer in her free time. She also enjoyed knitting and quilting, creating unique quilts and pillows for each of her grandchildren.

She is survived by her children, Đỗ Kim Thư, Đỗ Ngọc Thanh, Đỗ Quốc Khanh, Đỗ Như Hằng, Đỗ Hạnh Quân, Derek England and Phạm Thị Thùy Trinh; her grandchildren, Quỳnh-Chi Andrea Võ, Yên-Chi Elaine Võ-Holliday, Austin Cade Holliday, Max Huy England, Kathleen Phương-Nhi Đỗ, Katrina Vân-Uyên Đỗ, Kamilla Thảo-Mi Đỗ, Kevin Duy-Cang Trần, Ian Đình-Nguyên Trần, Claire Đan-Thanh Trần, Angelina Mỹ-An Đỗ, and Ryan Chí Luân Đỗ; her great-granddaughter, Emersyn Thiên-Chi Holliday; her siblings, Phạm Thị Hợi, Phạm Thị Nhàn, Phạm Thị Vân Hải, Phạm Việt Nam, Phạm Kim Quang, and Phạm Thị Ngọc Quỳnh; and many nieces and nephews.

She is forever in our hearts.

The Do Family