ly's life

Ly Van Doan II was born Dec 3, 1986 in San Jose California.  He is the 2nd Son of Connie Massey, Doan, Montoya and younger brother to Tuan Anthony Massey. Step brother to Jesse and Adrian Montoya and Father to his 3 year old son, Ly Van Doan III and loving Fiancé to Kathy Kim Co, the love of his life. Ly was 29 yeas old when he passed away to be with the Lord on Thursday July 7, 2016.  

I'm Ly's Mom Connie and this is his biography ... 

When Ly was born that was the first time he died... 

I remember clearly, my water broke....and my friend drove me to the hospital and a few hours after that I had Ly.  

Ly was beautiful, so tiny and only 6 pounds. On the second day, I dressed him in a yellow onesie wrapped him up and called a cab... There was no one waiting for us.   

Soon after we got home that evening Ly stopped breathing, his heart stopped and when the ambulance came they revived him... I prayed so hard in the back of that ambulance looking down at my son, I knew if he survived this he was going to be a very special boy. Ly bounced back and was full of life.  

Adolescent years...  

Every summer when the boys were little I would take them on a bus to Georgia to visit their granny, papa, aunts and cousins. Ly was about a year when he visited for the first time. It was always so hot in the summer that the first thing the boys would do is strip down to their undies...and beg me to let them go to see their cousins, Hope, Crystal and Brooke to play. They loved their cousins so much! They would play in the pool for hours... Until someone started crying and yes you guessed it, somewhere in the story Ly was involved. Ly loved to play little jokes and take everything to the next level... But we all knew that, especially me ..Ly's mom but his Aunt Cindy and Uncle Grape let him get away with Anything. I guess cause he was so darn cute and could talk and smile his way out of anything.  

Summer after summer we would come... 

From these summer visits, Ly bonded with a his Georgia family, learned the value of hard work and found a deeper appreciation for family that helped shape him into the man he became.  

A heart of gold... 

One thing everyone knew about Ly is he had a heart of gold filled up with so much compassion and love for others. I remember a time when Ly was around 5 years old and we didn't have much and sometimes at the end of the month we would run out of provisions... but we made it and God always provided.. 

One night, I was making dinner and I served the boys their plate.. Ly looked up and asked me, "Mom where is your food?" I told him "it's okay Ly, I'm not hungry" but in his heart he knew... 

I remember, Ly looked at me with sadness and gestured me over and said "sit down Mom and share mine.. there's enough for both of us". Ly not only loved his mommy with his whole heart but he also had a very deep love in his heart for his brother Anthony. He looked up to him and wanted to be just like him.  

Ly's one and only true hero... 

Anthony and Ly were only a year apart but in Ly's eyes his bigger brother hung the moon.  

When Ly was about 6, I remember this like yesterday.... Anthony went away on a camping trip one summer with the Christian day care. Ly wanted to go so bad but he wasn't in the age bracket so he had to stay home. Ly was so devastated! I tried to console him on the way home but he didn't want to talk. When we got home, Ly went straight to his room.  

The next couple days the house was pretty quiet...one night I went into Ly's room to say good night and found a picture of his brother under his pillow and a little tear on his face. That broke my heart.. Ly said he missed his brother so much he wanted to keep that picture under his pillow to be close to him... That boy loved his brother!  

Well needless to say, the boys had their own ways of teasing so when Anthony found out about the picture... He teased his brother about that for over 20 years. This story gave us many good laughs when we'd all get together and talk about old times.  

Ly's life was shaped around not having a Dad... 

As a very young boy Ly and Anthony spent the weekends at their Grandma's house in San Jose with their Aunt Thao and Uncles while I worked. During that time, Ly formed a strong bond with his Aunt Thao that was more like a big sister. Ly loved her very much. Anthony and Ly's father chose not to be in their life and I think Ly suffered at times from abandonment and felt the loss of a loving Dad. Ly would always tell me, Mom if I ever become a father, I'm going to be a real Dad and always be there for my son everyday! Because of not having a Dad, Ly always looked for validation and acceptance from others and sometimes chose the wrong path but even through the rough times in his life he always had the best of intentions. There were a few dark years of trying to work through all the pain he felt inside, masking it with bad friends, drugs and alcohol... And for me there were a lot of praying, worrying and sleepless nights.  

I remember, It was a late afternoon and I was living in Livermore California at the time. I received a call from Ly, the call that would change and redirect his life forever at least away from the darkness of a life that was killing him.  

"Mom can you pick me up? I just can't do this anymore..." 

I spent the next 2 weeks getting Ly healthy... At the time, this was one of the hardest 2 weeks we had ever had together but it was so worth it.. Shortly after this, Ly would get a Job at the Great Mall and meet the love of his life, Kathy.  

Let me digress a few years... 

Yes, Ly had a big Heart and along with that big heart Ly also had a very strong will... Ly always had a lot of things going on at once and would always drag or sway everyone in the house into his always urgent plans to help carry them out... but he was so good persuading, that you would actually believe you came up with the scheme and wanted to help him even more...If you have ever lived with Ly then you know exactly what I'm talking about.  

I remember a time... Ly had it in his mind he wanted to buy a car... 

He was about 15 years old and we lived in Fremont California. Ly was working as a swim coach for Fremont swim school and had a plan to save for his car. Everyday he had everyone in the house working toward his goal.  

Oh yes... There was a plan but Ly got ahead of himself and got his brother Anthony involved and they bought "The Ford Probe" a former racing car that looked "Hot" on the outside but on the inside it was tow-up! This car broke down every chance it got and caused so much havoc but over and over again Ly would put a band-aid on it until he used every resource he had and eventually Ly and I took Her to its grave.. Ly was heart broken, he loved his first car but Ly said to me, Mom... This was a lesson learned early and would want me to say to all of you readers, "check out your cars by a mechanic before you lay down the hard earned cash"! Lol.. 

His second car was a grey Toyota Corolla, which lasted much longer... 

Ly loved his family and friends and was the happiest around a big crowd but he had another love since the age of 9 years old, the love of music. I will always remember when Ly entered a talent contest at Pomeroy Elementary school and sang "I believe I can Fly"... Ly was so amazing by the end of the song he had everyone in tears. 

Writing, Producing, and Rapping started at around the age of 14 when I bought Ly his first microphone. We were living in Cupertino California at the time. Ly was so proud to have this microphone and said he was going to make a lot of music with it.  

"Mom come over here and let me record you, say something"  

I said instinctively, Ly.. I love you Son, you're the best Son in the whole world"   

Well... This is now an infamous phrase and the first words you hear to a song Ly wrote for me along with his brother Anthony and step brother Jesse called "Song for Mama"  

Ly went on to write and produce many albums, and leaving behind so many awesome memories through his music.  

Music was always a big part of Ly's life but when he Met Kathy " the love of his life" and had his Son, Ly Van Doan III this turned into a brand new chapter that would impact, imprint and redirect Ly's life for the rest of his life.  

Ly's last 6 years... 

Ly was around 24 when he got a job at the great mall at Verizon. I visited him at work quiet often, just going to lunch or having a coffee break. I loved just being with Ly simply because I knew he loved me unconditionally and we would always talk about the most compelling topics like, the creation of the world, telepathy, out of body experiences, lucid dreaming and God. Ly was amazing like that, he could talk about anything... 

One day while Ly was at work he called me to meet the girl that would change his life forever.. 

I met Kathy at the mall where Ly was working, she also worked there. On our way to her store location,  Ly told me "Mom, you are going to love Kathy" and I asked him "Why?" and he told me "because she's a lot like you Mom"! He smiled "that famous Ly smile" and continued...Strong, works hard and she is a good mother just like you... 

Yes, ... Ly did have a way with words... and I loved Kathy the moment I met her. Beautiful, kind smile and I could tell she loved Ly very much...we went to lunch at a dim sum restaurant and I knew she was the one for Ly.  

A few years later Kathy and Ly brought a son into the world, Little Ly and from that moment Big Ly and Little Ly are inseparable and spent every moment together. Big Ly meant every word of his vow as a Dad... He was the best Dad ever to Little Ly. This was Ly's greatest accomplishment and I'm so proud of him!  

Ly's life here on earth was very short but he impacted so many lives and was the best (Son, Brother, Grandson,  Nephew, Cousin, Friend, Fiancé, and most of all ..Daddy) in the whole world!  

I miss you like crazy..Ly ... we all do.  

Until we meet again.. my heart is full of you!  

- biography  Written  by  connie  massey-montoya

Ly's Gravesite
 

Ly Van doan II

Oak Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Park

300 Curtner Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125