Obituary of Bà Đặng Thị Cẩm Sanh

Sanh Thi Cam Dang of Ottawa, Ontario, passed away peacefully on Monday, October 14th, at St. Vincent Bruyere Hospital due to natural causes at the age of 93.

Sanh was a caring and kind mother to her ten children, Nhon Le, Duc Le, Van Le, Si Le, Hai Le, Minh Le, Thanh Le, Huong Le, Hong Le, and Chau Le.  She dearly loved her 14 grandchildren, Andy Le, Paula Le, Richard Le, Linda Le, Bryan Le, Angela Giang Tien Le, Julia Thuy Tien Le, Evan Huy Anh Le, Nhat Duy Le, Dong Thao Le, Theressa Limbeek, Victoria Limbeek, Olivia Hoang Anh Tran, Matthew Thien Phu Tran.

She was proceeded in death by her oldest daughter, Van Le.

She was born and raised in Da Nang, Vietnam, and moved to Hue when she was in her 20s.

Since the age of 10, Sanh had developed a sharp business sense, thanks to her mother who asked her to help with her own business.

Over the three decades, Sanh was the owner of several successful businesses.  In 1960s, her first line of business was to sell fabrics in the town Vy Da, where she was known as ‘Ba Ba Ban Vai” (means Ms. Ba selling fabrics), a friendly nickname people called her. In 1970s, her next business was to sell ice cream in the city of Hue, where her nickname has been changed to “Ba Ba Ban Kem” (means Ms. Ba selling ice cream), another friendly nickname that people gave her. The money she earned from her businesses enabled her to send all her ten children to pursue different academic paths, which in turn offer them great careers.

During the 1990s she lived in Ottawa Canada and started selling her famous home-made Vietnamese specialty food such as “Banh Beo” and “Banh Boc Loc” to many people as well as numerous stores in town.  

All her life she was dedicated to ensure that her children were healthy both physically as well as emotionally, especially the ones who still live in Vietnam and thus deserve more attention.

Sanh’s memory was impressive as she could recite very long poems that no one else could!

She was a wonderful people person. She connected with everyone who she happened to meet whether in a supermarket, a park or at a Christmas party.

She will be greatly missed by her husband Nuoi Van Le, her children, her relatives, and her friends.

Relatives and friends are invited to celebrate Sanh’s life on Saturday, October 19th at 11 am – 4 pm at the Cole Funeral Services, 2500 Baseline Road, Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3H9.

Thank you for everything, Mom. We will love you forever.