Vattana Miech

Vattana Miech was born in Battambang, Cambodia on May 15, 1975.He was the youngest of the family with 6 older siblings led by a single mother.He was born during the Khmer Rouge regime, the darkest period in Cambodian history.Through this period of hardship, he and the family went through great struggles to stay alive in the concentration camps, facing starvation and sickness.In 1979, through a leap of faith, Vattana, his siblings, and his mother risked their lives and escaped the concentration camp.They walked 50 miles through the jungle of Cambodia full of land mines and wild animals, and eventually reached the border of Thailand and settled in a refugee camp with other refugees until 1981, when the International Rescue Committee obtained sponsorship for them by the U.S. government. They were relocated and settled in a low-income community near downtown Dallas, TX.Without any money or possessions, the family started their new lives living a single bedroom apartment. Despite enduring these hardships, Vattana completed elementary school in Dallas, and the family later moved to San Diego, where he would complete the rest of his education, as well as some college. Due to the cost of living, the majority of the family moved back to Texas, settling in Garland. Vattana began working in the auto industry, selling cars at Van Chevrolet. In 2003, through a lucky twist of fate, Sarah walked into his work to deliver some food. They went out dancing a couple of days later, and were inseparable after that. Vattana and Sarah were married on February 19, 2007, with their son Brent and other family members by their side. Braeden arrived later that year, and soon after, they moved to Mesquite, Texas. They were so in love. At that point, Vattana was working for Southwest Kia, where he stayed for 13 years, and had moved to Clay Cooley Kia in April of this year. He was so full of ideas and dreams to improve the quality of life for himself and his family, and wanted to find ways to spend more time with them. He was also an avid fisherman, and enjoyed heading to the lake whenever he had a spare moment. He returned to Heaven on August 7, 2016. His death was a complete shock to us all, and was totally unexpected. Vattana was preceded in death by his father, Moeung Meach, and his brother, Sophoeun Meach. He was survived by his wife of 9 years, Sarah Miech, their two sons, Brent and Braeden, his mother Rou Moeun, brother Vattanak Miech, sisters Marina Miech, Raci Miech, Judy Miech, and Rani Sorn, and numerous nieces and nephews, whom he loved dearly. His viewing will be held on Friday, August 12th from 6-8 pm, and the funeral will be on Saturday, August 13th at 10 am, both held at New Hope Funeral Home, located at 500 E. Hwy 80, Sunnyvale, TX, 75182.