My Thanh Nguyen

My Thanh Nguyen, 34, born on October 12, 1987, in Des Moines, IA, United States, passed away March 14, 2022. He resided in San Diego, CA at the time of his passing. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, California.

My's family moved to Canoga Park, California when he was 4-years old. Growing up in the valley, My enjoyed skating and later became avid about fitness.

After completing high school, My married his high school sweetheart, Mariza Centenera, in 2006. He then went on to be a CNA.

My always talked about how he wanted to try living and traveling to different places. He knew he would be rooted in Los Angeles with family, but wanted to broaden his horizons. He and his wife then moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2010. They enjoyed a wonderful life there but traveled back to Southern California frequently to be closer to family. In 2013 they moved to San Diego, California, not knowing they would eventually settle there and buy their first home in 2020.

My enjoyed traveling. Over the years he's traveled to Japan on two occasions, to Mexico City and Teotihuacán, and to many other cities across the country. He was always on the lookout for new and exciting culinary inspiration and experiences through each of his trips.

In 2017 My and Mariza's nephew/godson, Javan Junatas moved in. Since then, he has continued to live with them as their own. My always called Javan his son.

In 2018 the couple had their dream wedding/vow renewal. It was a long time coming after their first wedding, happening 12 years later. My had often said it was the best day of his life; at least until March 2022, when he found out that he and his wife are now expecting their first baby.

My was an extremely talented chef that was truly passionate about the culinary world. He officially started his culinary journey at the beginning of 2021. His dream was to share the range and complexities of Vietnamese cooking with the world. He wanted to accomplish this through a cookbook that would archive family recipes from his mother, and by opening a restaurant that could showcase the vast breadth of Vietnamese cuisine, instead of only specializing in Pho. He also wanted to highlight the similarities and differences between Vietnamese and Filipino cooking, so he planned to have the restaurant serve both cuisines with a potential name of Fish Sauce, fish sauce being a common key ingredient for both cultures. My was always a true entertainer and wanted the restaurant to have karaoke nights as well. He was a beautiful singer and amazing dancer.

My was always full of light and life. He had a charm, a magnetism to him that drew people in. He brought joy to others by simply being himself around them. His sense of humor could always ease a conversation and bring a smile to someone on an otherwise bad day.

My is survived by his wife, Mariza; their soon-to-be-born baby; nephew/godson, Javan; mother, Van; father, Chi; brothers, Sang and Spencer; and sisters, Yvonne and Britney.