Mouth Ouk

Ouk, Mouth MADISON - Mouth Ouk, age 75, passed away on Friday, June 15, 2007, at Meriter Hospital. He was born on Dec. 1, 1931, in Kompong Chhnang Province, Cambodia. Mouth was an ordained monk at age 18. In 1953, he joined the Army of Cambodia, reaching the rank of a Master Sergeant in 1975. Mouth was united in marriage to Savorn Poeu. She preceded him in death in 1975; she was murdered in the Khmer Rouge War. Mouth was a devoted father who sacrificed his life for his children. Despite his wifes murder and the war, he gathered his children and left Cambodia. Mouth and his children came to the U.S. in 1979, after escaping the Khmer Rouge Regime. The familys freedom and emigration was sponsored by a Presbyterian Church in Lake Geneva. He continued his devotion to his children by raising them alone in the U.S. Mouth was a peace activist in the U.S. fighting for Cambodian freedom from Communism. He spent much of his time writing letters to the United Nations and President Bush for the cause of Cambodian freedom. Mouth devoted all his time to building the Cambodian community and was the first to establish the Cambodian Association of Wisconsin. He is survived by his children, Sophol Mouth, Sameth Mouth, Sophea Mouth, Sophay Mouth, Sokha Mouth and Borin Mouth; 15 grandchildren; and a great-grandson. Funeral services will be held at the CAMBODIAN BUDDHIST SOCIETY, 1848 Highway MM, Oregon, at 2 p.m., on Saturday, June 23, 2007. Visitation will be from noon until the time of the service on Saturday. Ritual chanting and prayers will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday.