Cover photo for Tun Ley's Obituary
Tun Ley Profile Photo
1954 Tun 2017

Tun Ley

May 18, 1954 — September 19, 2017

Tun Ley of Logan, Utah, died September 19, 2017, after a short illness. Tun Ley was born in a small village near Hpa-An, Karen State, Myanmar (Burma) to Oow Shwe and Daw Shwe on May 18, 1954. He was the oldest of four children, and he spent his childhood in his village working with his parents where he learned to grow rice and raise animals to feed the family. As a young man, he became a Buddhist monk and learned how to read and write Burmese, but after four years, he left the monastery and went out on his own. He was fearless and knew how to take care of himself with minimal resources. In 1982, Tun Ley met his future wife, Moo Chip, while both of them were working in agriculture away from their home villages. Tun Ley immediately fell in love with Moo Chip and wanted to get married the same day. Moo Chip initially was not so certain about her feelings for Tun Ley but he did approach her father and asked for her hand in marriage and promised to take good care of her. They were married three days later.

Tun Ley and Moo Chip grew to truly love each other through the hardships they faced together in life. They lost their first daughter during childbirth but subsequently had two sons, Nyunt Aye and Nyunt Lewin, while living and working in Myanmar. Civil war broke out, and their village near Hpa-An was attacked by the Myanmar army, forcing them to flee on foot through the jungles and into the mountains near their village. After a week of being chased by the army through the jungle, both day and night, Tun Ley, Moo Chip, and their two young sons managed to escape into Thailand.

For the next fifteen years, Tun Ley and his family stayed in refugee camps in western Thailand near the border of Myanmar. Life in the crowded refugee camps was difficult because food was limited and they were not allowed to leave the camp boundaries or obtain employment in Thailand. While living in Kway Boe Camp, Tun Ley and Moo Chip had their fourth child, a happy little girl named Ley Win.

In June of 2008, Tun Ley, Moo Chip, and their three surviving children were able to relocate from Thailand refugee camps to Salt Lake City, Utah. Shortly thereafter, Tun Ley got a job processing beef at JBS in Hyrum, Utah. He was always very grateful for the opportunity to work at JBS and earn a living to support his family, and he was known by co-workers and supervisors as a dependable, efficient worker. His hard work at JBS however left him tired, and he sometimes fell asleep during evening English classes at the ELC (English Language Center) which earned him the title, given by his Karen friends, of “English Master.”

Tun Ley grew up practicing Buddhism, but while he was in the refugee camps in Thailand, he learned about Jesus from faithful Baptist ministers, and he converted to Christianity. Two years later, he started his own work as a pastor, sharing the teachings of Jesus with other refugees in his camp. He strongly believed in God and was a fervent student of the Bible which he studied intensely at least twice each day. His deep faith and trust in God persisted throughout his life. He prayed often with his family and friends, and his prayers in his native Karen tongue were always an intense spiritual experience, even for those people in the room who did not speak or understand the Karen language. He was always grateful to God for the blessings of being able to come with his family to the United States and live in this country where he was free to work, worship God, and live each day without fear of his family being attacked.
He is survived by Moo Chip, his life-long “Tha boe” (“sweetheart”), and his devoted children, Nyunt Aye (April Ju), Nyunt Lewin (Paw Lah Sher), and Ley Win, along with six grandchildren.

A viewing will be held on September 23, 2017 at at Allen Hall Mortuary, 34 East Center Street, Logan, from 10:30 am to 11:30 am followed by funeral services beginning at 12:00 pm. Interment will take place in the Logan City Cemetery.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Tun Ley, please visit our flower store.

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