WHO IS LOURY BUN?

Somloury (Loury) Bun

I would call my life a miracle and a blessing at the same time. My family came to the United States as refugees sponsored by my uncle in 1982. Prior to coming to America, life was pretty normal and everyone was happy until the Khmer Rouge regime took over. That’s when it was a challenge in Cambodia. During the Khmer Rouge in 1975, my father was a Cambodian soldier. He fled our hometown because he feared execution by the Khmer Rouge. Any family who was educated or associated with the Government was executed. My mother was left to care for her 7 children ranging in age from 14 to newborn. I was 3 years old when the Khmer Rouge took over our town and our family was split up. My 4 older siblings were taken to work in a different camp and my 5 year old sister watched over me and my younger sister while our mom worked in the field. Life was very rough for my mom. She would sneak out at night to visit my older siblings to make sure they were safe and bring left over food for them to eat. 

One night, my uncle, who was in the same camp with my mom and me, decided it was time to escape the Khmer Rouge and travel to Thailand for safety. Of course my mom was very concerned. How would she be able to gather all 7 children and travel with them by herself? It was a miracle that she managed to find all her children and flee the camp with her brothers and sisters. We were very lucky; not many families have a story like mine. 

We heard gun fire as we tried to escape. Not looking back, we walked all night to the Thailand border and arrived safely the next morning. We were placed in many refugee camps in Thailand over the next several years, hoping our father would come find us so we could be a family again. Finally in 1981, my dad found us and we applied to come to America. My uncle traveled to America ahead of us and settled in Danbury. It was at that time he was able to sponsor my whole family and we arrived in America in March 1982. I was 8 years old.

We came to the United States with nothing but the clothes we wore. With hard work and a blessing from God our whole family was together again. Today, everyone owns their home and lives close by. My parents are blessed with 7 children and their spouses, 18 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.

I am so blessed to be working for Matson Financial Advisors. In 2002 when I first joined the Team, we shared office space with another firm. I was the receptionist, sharing duties for both firms. Once they split in 2011, I decided to stay on with Matson Financial Advisors and work for Michael, who is understanding and always doing what is best for clients. I enjoy working with clients as the first point of contact monitoring a long lasting relationship with them. In addition to welcoming clients to our office, I also provide administrative support to the Financial Planning, Corporate Benefits, and Wealth Management teams! I also assist in the coordination of annual client reviews, maintaining the accuracy of the client database, preparing client investment summaries for client meetings, and continuously updating client accounts. On a daily basis I validate client electronic transaction data. This will be my 17th year with the firm!

I have been married for 25 years to my wonderful husband Phan and have 3 beautiful daughters, Alyssa, Anna and Addison. I love spending time with my family. Going on long weekend camping trips or renting a 7 bedroom home at the Outer Banks that can accommodate all of my siblings and their families are our most favorite things to do.

My first lesson in English was how to say “Hello, how are you?” and “I’m fine, thank you.”