A Life Well Lived: Ngo Dinh Tu, passed away on February 23, 2023 at age 90 after a long battle with cancer in Wilmington, NC.

Born in 1932 in South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Tu affectionately known as “Tu” to all that knew him came to the US in the late 1950’s.

He graduated from the National College of Vietnam and served five years as an officer of the South Vietnamese military before becoming a diplomat for the country, assigned to Ft. Benning, Georgia and later Washington, D.C.

Before he began his diplomatic career, Tu was a teaching fellow at American University in Washington D.C. where he also earned a master’s degree in 1963.

He served his country as a diplomat from 1961-62 and 1965-66.

During the break in his diplomatic career, Tu finished the work for his doctoral degree from Harvard University in 1964 and completed his dissertation in 1969.

After he left Harvard, Tu was unable to return to South Vietnam because of government changes.

He began teaching Political Science at Clarion University in 1966 and served as chair of the Department of Social Sciences from 1970 to 1973.

He was a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University, England in 1975 and an Honor Seminar professor for the State System of Higher Education at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania in summer 1985.

The recipient of numerous grants and awards, Tu received Fulbright research grants to Japan in 1977; Hungary, in 1988; and Argentina in 1989.

In 1986, he was elected to the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, serving as a member of that body until 1990.

He presented papers at professional conferences in Argentina, France, Germany, Japan and the Soviet Union, as well as for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

He was a member of the United States Strategic Institute and the American Friends of Cambridge University.

Teaching bright young minds on a daily basis was his true calling.

He never forgot the names of his students even after many years.

He received the Distinguished Faculty Award in 1990 from the Clarion University Alumni Association.

He retired as professor emeritus in 1999 after a distinguished thirty-three year tenure at Clarion University.

While working at the Vietnamese embassy he met his wife, Dan Dan.

Married in 1959, Dan Dan and Tu were lifelong partners who loved to play tennis, windsurf, ski, travel, and entertain at home, often with ballroom dancing in their kitchen.

They made friends everywhere they went including fellow professors and their families at Clarion University, their daughter, Veronique’s friends, and their beloved “WSG” aka Wednesday Ski Group of Holiday Valley, New York.

It was not unusual for Tu to be found hitting 200 tennis balls a day in the summer and skiing 4 hours a day at Holiday Valley or Seven Springs Ski Resorts.

Expanding their ski universe, Tu and Dan Dan skied Vail, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Aspen, Heavenly, Whistler Blackcomb, Mount Snow, Killington, Park City, Deer Valley and many more.

Always seeking to keep his mind sharp, he loved learning new languages and was fluent in Vietnamese, French, English, German, and Spanish.

And it wasn’t just intellectual pursuits to keep his mind sharp but also those that challenged him physically including how to windsurf.

At the age of 54, he decided he wanted to learn how to snowboard and at the age of 84, Tu learned how to stand-up paddle.

His daughter has followed in her father’s footsteps to try and learn new things no matter what age.

Downhill skiing was his true love and to this day, she still can’t keep up with the amount of time he spent on the slopes.

She recently learned how to play squash and would send home videos of her matches for him to critique.

Ever the funny guy, he sent her an email telling her, “Honey…you’re at the age where you shouldn’t be running after those balls.”

She and her mother (at the age of 84) have also picked up stand-up paddling because it’s a family requirement.

Age never stopped Tu from doing anything he set his heart on.

To him, age was but a number.

Former Clarion University student, Rodney Sherman wrote of Tu for the school newspaper, “If I can give one piece scheduling, it is this, Do whatever you have to do to get into Dr. Ngo Dinh Tu’s American Government class. Or any other class Dr. Tu offers. He is the most valuable instructor this campus has. He is without a doubt the most intelligent man I have ever met. How CUP has managed to retain his services for as long as they have is beyond me. Dr. Tu has an amazing background of life experience that makes even a simple passing conversation a memorable encounter. If nothing else, sit down and listen to stories of the people he has met and the places he has been. You won’t be sorry.”

Anyone that that has met Tu would tell you the same thing.

Tu was preceded in death by his parents.

Beloved by all, he will be greatly missed by his wife of 64 years, Dan Dan Tu, his daughter Veronique “Nikki” Tu, family members and friends.

A celebration of life will be held in the near future.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Lower Cape Fear LifeCare of Wilmington, NC or Harvard University, The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.