Hiep Van Le, 68, of Winchester, Virginia left this earthly realm on Friday, May 8th, 2020, during a tragic fishing accident on the Potomac River. 

Hiep was born in 1952 in Bien Hoa, Vietnam and was the 3rd of 8 children born to Trung Van Le and Sa Thi Vo. He attended Ngo-Quyen High School with a full scholarship and graduated with high honors. After graduating, he attended Si Quan Da Lat: a prestigious South Vietnam Officer Training Academy. Post military graduation, he fought in the Vietnam War and was a Lieutenant in the South Vietnamese Army.

After the Fall of Saigon in the Spring of 1975, when Communists infiltrated his homeland, he was sent to a Re-Indoctrination Camp for 4 years. Due to his service in the South Vietnamese Army and his time as a Prisoner of War, the United States government and a sponsorship by Market St. United Methodist Church, in Winchester, VA, yielded the opportunity for him and his family to move to the United States in 1992.

Hiep provided his family a new life in America and was the personification of the American Dream. He was a production assistant at Federal Mogul and Rubbermaid Commercial Products, where he retired in 2017. Hiep was a member of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church and was a faithful man of God. He forever instilled in his children that hard work, integrity, and education are the keys to success and that all blessings are through God’s grace. 

Hiep enjoyed spending his free time surrounded by family, and indulged in catching special moments on his camera. He would turn the pictures he took into DVD musical slideshows, for everyone to relish in. He also enjoyed watching sports and films, playing games, traveling, being in nature, and gardening. Hiep was a skilled and passionate fisherman, and he was often known to bring home a bounty full. His plan was to wait for his wife to retire so that they could both move somewhere closer to the water, where they could go fishing every day. 

He married the love of his life, Xuan Thi Ta, on January 15, 1981, in Vietnam.

Surviving along with his wife, are: daughters – Kim Craighead (and husband David) of Leesburg, Virginia; Karen Le (and husband Adil) of Alexandria, Virginia; Caitlin Testa (and husband Joey) of Harrisonburg, Virginia; son – Hieu Le (and wife Hannah) of Stephens City, Virginia; grandchildren – Emily and Sean Craighead; Zain and Sara Chauhan; Magnolia and Winston Testa; sisters – Nghia Thi Le of Pennsylvania, Ven Thi Le, Chau Minh Le, and Phuong Minh Le, all of Vietnam; brothers – Tinh Van Le, Loi Van Le, and Nguyen Thanh Le, all of Vietnam.

A memorial mass service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 27, 2020 at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Winchester, Virginia. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Hiep Le’s Funeral Fund, found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/hiep-le-funeral-funraiser