Khim Say

May 12, 1932 - January 15, 2021

It is with greatest sorrow that our beloved wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother Say Khim Bourn (朱賽金 Zhù Sài Jīn) passed away on Friday, January 15th, 2021, 1:21am at Advent Health Kissimmee hospital at the age of 91 years old. Born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 12, 1929, Say Khim was a sister to six siblings and the second youngest daughter to Meng Ly and Bourn Zhu. In her early years, Say Khim was not able to attend school but worked hard at home, learning to support her family. In 1951, at the age of 21, Say Khim married our father and grandfather Chhay Hok and together they ran a charcoal and brick business. They eventually started a family where they had 8 children (Chhouk, Malay, Mala, Lang, Varin, Vary, Vanny, and Dany) and adopted a daughter (Chea Mak). From 1975 to 1979, Say Khim and her family lived in an open-air prison where starvation, torture, coerced labor, and death defined their day-to-day life. During the Khmer Rouge regime, she lost her eldest son which prompted her family’s escape in 1980. With nothing else but their children on their backs, Say Khim and her husband courageously led their family out of Cambodia, fleeing the Khmer Rouge genocide. They navigated mine-infested lands by foot to Thailand before they finally sought refuge at a camp called Khao I Dang. In 1981, Say Khim and her family resettled in Uptown, Chicago. There, the ten of them crammed into a two-bedroom apartment and though they had lived through the unimaginable, they now struggled with a new form of survival: being thrown into a foreign world with lingering trauma and no resources. For many years after, Say Khim worked so hard to keep her family afloat, fighting through poverty and racism, never getting a chance to process her own immense devastation. Say Khim eventually relocated to Orlando, Florida where she resided with daughter Vary Hok for many years. She played an integral role as a caregiver in helping raise many of her grandchildren. Say Khim remained in Orlando until the end of her days. Though she was only 5’0”, Say Khim was an unbelievably strong daughter, wife, mother, grandma, and great grandma who spilled compassion and unconditional love to her family, always making sacrifices wherever possible. Say Khim could only speak the Khmer language but she loved reconnecting with her Teochew Chinese roots by watching Teochew Opera (Teochew-hee, 潮州戲). She always stayed active by swimming, taking walks, gardening, and stretching. Though she loved to exercise, nothing could top her love for food - warm french bread with condensed milk, yeasty glazed donuts, salted fruits, Tapai (Cambodian fermented rice dessert), Nom Krok (coconut pancake balls), fish rice porridge, dried fish, Pa’awk (fermented fish), fish head dishes, chicken feet soup, and Nom Bo Jok (Cambodian fish noodle soup) were some of her favorites. Say Khim is survived by six daughters, two sons, 23 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren: 1. Adopted Daughter Chea Mak and Nay Ouk with 4 grandchildren: Veronica Sinath Ouk and her husband John Tum (with 4 great grandchildren: Melissa, Jonathan, Dennis, and Dylan), Nick Sinal Ouk and his wife Sovy Chum (with 3 great grandchildren: Vanessa, Jason, Valerie), Srey Salpan and her husband Jones Salpan (with 1 great grandson Leonardo), Sinnean Ouk and her husband Rath Yoeum (with 2 great grandsons: Nathan and Austin) 2. Grandson Tek Tea and partner Leone Marr (with 3 great grandchildren: Georgia, Kobe, and Dylan) 3. Daughter Malay Hok with granddaughter: Saly and husband Joseph 4. Daughter Mala Lim with granddaughter: Lisa and her husband Edgar Vergara (with great granddaughter Ellison) 5. Daughter Lang Hok and husband Kim hok with 3 grandchildren: Lim and her husband John Gamalinda (with great grandchildren: KC, Miles, and Leilani), Lin, and Nicole 6. Son Varin Hok and wife Molyka Keo with 5 grandchildren: Andrew, Emily and her husband Andrew, Aimie, Elyse, and Kaylene 7. Daughter Vary Hok and husband Ray Nong with 3 grandchildren: Celena and partner Derek Davis (with 2 great grandsons: Brody and Landon), Jessie, and Jazzmin 8. Daughter Vanny Hok and husband John HaiChuan Teoh with 2 grandchildren: William and Ashley 9. Son Dany Hok and wife Ann Cheang with 3 grandchildren: Brandon, Amanda, and Julia