Tuyet (née Nguyễn) Leser, 77, of Munster, Indiana, passed away on the morning of June 21, 2026. Tuyet was born on October 19, 1948, in Đức Phổ, in the coastal Quảng Ngãi province of Vietnam. She was the second-born and oldest living child of her parents and was soon joined by three younger brothers, whom she loved and looked out for her entire life.

Tuyet’s childhood was marked by natural beauty, strong traditions, and a large and loving extended family. However, growing up in an occupied and later war-torn country was not always easy, and Tuyet endured harrowing experiences of sleeping in underground tunnels to avoid bombs and gunfire. These experiences no doubt contributed to her supreme strength, her fighting spirit, and her intense devotion to her family on both sides of the globe.

After high school, Tuyet worked at the Post Exchange for the U.S. military in Cam Ranh Bay. As fate would have it, she was placed in a department that sold cameras, which is how she met Robert Leser, a private in the U.S. Army and a photography enthusiast. Robert and Tuyet fell in love and were married on May 29, 1969, in a Catholic ceremony in Saigon. After two years in Saigon, Tuyet and Robert moved to Robert’s hometown, the Hegewisch neighborhood of Chicago. She gave birth to two daughters, Susan in 1971 and Kathleen in 1972, and in 1979 to their son, Thomas.

Tuyet was passionate in her roles as wife, mother, and homemaker. She loved sewing outfits for herself and her children and was an amazing cook. Chả Giò (fried spring rolls) was a staple dish at every Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Already skilled at making many beloved Vietnamese dishes, such as Gỏi Cuốn (fresh spring rolls) and Bánh Xèo, Tuyet also learned to make a variety of dishes and desserts not common to her homeland, including a boundless variety of cookies and cakes.

Tuyet loved visiting family in Vietnam and returned in the mid-1990s after many years away. By then, she had been a U.S. citizen for over two decades, having studied for several years to pass her citizenship test. Although a homebody by nature, she had a passion for attending Mass at St. Columba, and later Saint James the Less, shopping at the Vietnamese stores on Chicago’s North Side, going to the beach, playing slots at the casino, and traveling to Florida and Texas to escape the Chicago winters, always with her husband Robert as her constant companion. But in the last sixteen years of her life, Tuyet’s greatest joy came from spending time with her three grandsons, Jonah, Locke, and Michael.

Everyone who met Tuyet was struck by her kindness, her generosity, and her humor. She was the beating heart of her family, and her presence will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.

Tuyet was preceded in death by her father, Nguyễn Quốc; her mother, Nguyễn Thị Diệu; her brothers Nguyễn Quang and Nguyễn Thọ; her brother-in-law Richard Leser, her nephew Brian Leser, Sr.; and her grandchild, August Leser.

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Robert Leser; her daughter Susan Leser (grandson Michael); her daughter Kathleen Gordon and son-in-law Michael Gordon; her son Tom Leser and daughter-in-law Becky Leser (grandsons Jonah and Locke); and her brother Nguyễn Thanh and his wife, Nguyễn Liễu.

The service for Tuyet Leser will be live streamed at 6:00 p.m. central time, but a recording can also be viewed any time after the service.

https://www.asimplestreaming.com/tleser

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