Kouang was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  His father, Thiet Lang and mother, Hong Giel Tang had 4 daughters, 1 son and an adopted son.  His mother, Hong loved him so much, he was the apple of her eye, and he was the youngest child of the family.  His parents were merchant people, they owned a kitchenware supply in Cambodia.  When his dad died from a heart attack, Kouang tried his very best to provide for his mom and siblings.  His mom had to make a hard choice to sell their business.  Kouang later found a job working for his uncle selling household items to support his family.  He attended Chinese school from an young age to college level learning to speak 3 different Chinese dialect and learning to write and also spoke Cambodian.  In 1979, Kouang escaped the Pol Pot genocide alone and went to the Thailand Camp.  In a couple of months, Thailand soldiers told the refugees to go into the mountains where he met his future wife, Sou Lim.  They both shared the same maiden last name.

Later that year on August 6 ^th , they arrived in Mineral Wells, Texas.  They lived and worked there for about a year until they relocated to Tacoma, Washington in 1980.  As soon as Kouang came to America, he made it priority to sponsor his only living sister, her children and other family members where they all stayed in a small, cramped apartment complex on formerly K Street which is now MLK Way and also lived on 11 ^th and I Street in hilltop.  Instilling family values was very important to him.  In February of 1981, Kouang and Sou were married and had 3 children together.  Kouang and Sou both worked multiple jobs such as berry, mushroom, and other vegetable farm picking for many years.  They even worked during the day doing bear grass at home or in peoples garages for income and worked as janitors in office buildings in Bellevue at night.  Hard work was one of the great qualities that he tried to instill in everyone that he comes across.

Providing for his family and friends was very important to him.  He was a great carpenter.  He would build his wife her own garage cabinets and even worked so hard building his own deck in the home where they resided.  He later worked as a caregiver for his family friend for a few years until his friend passed away.  After that, he worked as a dish washer at Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn for about a year until he received a permanent position as a table card dealer where he worked for 12 years before he officially retired.  He was very proud of his occupation, and he met a lot of great lasting friends there.  He was able to enjoy his retirement and traveled back to his homeland in Cambodia multiple times before his health deteriorated.  For a father who battled an illness, he managed it with strength and grace and wanted to spend as much time with his loved ones as possible.

We are heartbroken to announce the death of our father, Kouang Lim. He passed away peacefully at the age of 71 years old, surrounded by his close family. My dad enjoyed going on walks, watching Chinese and Cambodian movies, going to Emerald Queen Casino, playing video games on his phone, seeing his grandchildren, loves eating at Harvest Buffet Restaurant, and reading the Chinese newspaper. He leaves behind his wife, Sou S. Lim of 42 years, his biological children Stephen R. L., Marian L. F., and Jason M. L., his stepchildren Teng C. C., Teng H. C., Amanda T., and Teng C. C., his nieces and nephews in California, Philadelphia and in Cambodia, and his 16 grandchildren. Our father, Kouang Lim departed this world on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at 2:01pm at Tacoma General Hospital in Tacoma, Washington.