Lyly Kara Thanh (Koenig) Mendez

Born November 13, 1974. Died from metastatic breast cancer January 20, 2015.

Her Story:

Lyly Kara Thanh (Koenig) Mendez was born in Vietnam on November 13th, 1974. Soon thereafter, Lyly was rescued from an orphanage in what is known today as “one of the most humanitarian efforts of all time”…Operation Baby Lift.

“In the course of a few weeks, over 3,000 orphans were taken to safety all over the world. More children were adopted in the US from Vietnam during this short interval in history than the total for the past 30 years.”  And lucky for us, Lyly was one of those adoptees, thanks to her loving parents Karen and Ralph.

Lyly grew up strong and beautiful in Festus, Missouri and brought good fortune to those she touched. Over the next few years, her sister Lindsey was born followed by her brother Ross. Her life was on pace until 2006, when at the young age of 32 years, she was diagnosed with Stage I Breast Cancer.

Three years later in 2009, the cancer recurred, wrapped around her ribs at the sternum. In Lyly’s words, “Once again I set aside my life and dreams to fight it out with cancer.”  During her fight she underwent numerous biopsies, a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, Herceptin treatments and hair loss. In 2012, Lyly met the love of her life, James Mendez. Together they endured her third diagnosis. This time the breast cancer had metastasized to Stage IV. In November 2014, Lyly reached the milestone age of 40 years young. Just a few months later, on January 20th, 2015 and after 8 years of endless fighting, Lyly lost her battle with breast cancer.

In her short time with us, Lyly has touched the hearts of people all over the world. She spread her wings and made an unforgettable impact on the lives of everyone she met. She taught us how to love, endure, give, sacrifice and laugh! She will forever be etched on our hearts as our guardian angel in heaven.

Lyly’s dream was to go back to Vietnam this year in March to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Operation Baby Lift where she would reunite with her adoptee family that she referred to as her “brothers and sisters”. Sadly she won’t get to see that day…

In her final days, Lyly shared her one last wish…to have her ashes spread in Vietnam & Festus, her birthplace and her home.