Lay Prum

Mr. Lay Prum was born on July 6, 1948, in Takeo province of Cambodia. His father is Mr. Pu Prum and his mother is Mrs. Charea Lach both are deceased. Lay Prum has five siblings, two boys and three girls. He is the oldest in the family. When reaching school age he began to attend elementary school in the village and continue to attend high school then went to college and graduated from college in the late 60’s. After he graduated from college, he met and married Ms. Sor Nam together they have three children. At that time Cambodia was falling into civil war and Mr. Lay Prum then joined the Army to service and protect his beloved country, until the Khmer Rouge took over the country in April 17, 1975. The new regime began ruling the country and everything was changed for the worse. In 1976, Mr. Lay Prum knew someday, he would be killed by Khmer Rouge regime because he was a former soldier associated with American forces. He then was able to escape by himself to Khmer-Thai border. Three months after living there, he was accepted to come to Unite States in 1976. He first settled in Spokane, Washington. After Khmer rouge regime collapsed in January 1979, he learned that his wife and children were killed by Khmer rouge. He later married again to Ms. Nancy Chang and had three children together, but they separated in 1987 and Mr. Lay Prum decided to move to Fresno. In 2002 he remarried to Ms. Sok Hon Hout and have been living together ever since. Mr. Lay Prum worked with Fresno County in the mental department as a social worker since 1988 until he retired. He volunteer his time to serve in organizations, non-profit agency and private sectors as well. He was a former board member of Cambodian Buddhist Society of Fresno, board member of Fresno Center, a member of Military Service, and he was a broadcaster for radio station 88.1 FM personal broadcasted in Khmer language every Friday in the 90’s. He was also involved in politic affiliation both in America and Cambodia. He was very active individual who has contributed a significant amount of time, expertise and special talent to help better our community. Mr. Lay Prum was also a community liaison for the Cambodian community and assisted the families with their funeral services at Chapel of the Light Funeral Home for over 15 years. He was one of the Cambodian leaders in our community who inspired young and older generation to have hope and to be positive in life. His commitment and dedication has made Fresno a better city for all of us and his legacy will live on. In recent years he has been really sick and last week he was admitted to hospital, unfortunately on August 8th, 2024 at 3:17 pm he passed away at Fresno Community Hospital at the age of 76. On behalf of Mr. Lay Prum’s family I would like to thank each and every one of you for taking your time to come and share your love and support for us during this difficult time. We really appreciate it very much. Traditional Cambodian Funeral Service will be held the Wat Budhasasanac Temple on Saturday, August 17, 2024 at 9:00am until 2:00 pm. Burial to follow at Mt. View Cemetery with full Military Honors.

Tributes

Lay Prum

July 6, 1948 - August 8, 2024