Obituary of Oradee Thavandee

Oradee Thanavadee was born in Vientine, Laos on January 15, 1953. She is the daughter of Souphy Thanavadee and Nhai Sengsavanh. She completed her education at Ban Wattay primary school in 1965, and studied English at Lao American Association school in 1966-1967. She continued her studies at Thoung Mahamek College in Thailand in 1968, and received her diploma at the Fort Worth School of Business in 1981. She married one time with Somphet Sananikone (Oudone). She gave birth to two wonderful children, Ting (Nethdara) and Mino (Ouraphet) Thanavadee. In 1976, Oradee and her son escaped from Laos and found asylum in Thailand until 1978 when they relocated to start a new life in the United States on March 31st, 1978. Her daughter Ting later arrived with her grandfather to join her family in 1988. Oradee worked at Canadian Acres/Dam Site at the Tha Lat program building, and at Nippon Koei (Japanese Contractor) from 1969 to 1970. She began her social work career at USAID/Public Health Department in August 1970-1975. Afterwards, she worked as a secretary/accountant at the Australian Embassy/Colombo Plan from 1975-1976, and as a administrative assistant at the United Nation/Control Narcotic Drug in 01/1976. From May 8, 1978-June 2007, she continued her social work in America for a charity called USCC (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). From June 2003-July 2007, she worked as a case worker for Mosaic Family Service, which is a community based nonprofit organization that provides cultural and linguistic services to refugees and immigrants in crisis. She retired from her work in 2007 due to her declining health. Even with the frequent visits to the doctor, Oradee always kept a strong positive spirit. In the morning at 9:11 AM, on February 18, 2020, Oradee Thanavadee passed away from this life peacefully surrounded by the people she loved. She will always be loved and remembered. There will be a memorial gathering at her sister's home following the service Saturday up until Sunday evening. Please reach out to family or friends for the address.