Written by: Gabriella Grundy
Naw Lawn Dumhpya, a man known for crafting the sushi offered at the Village Market at Southern Adventist University, passed away in his home on April 3 at the age of 62.
Born in Njang Yang, Myanmar, Dumphya immigrated to the United States and has lived in Ooltewah since 2006, according to his obituary posted on Heritage Funeral Home’s website. He was a member of the Tennessee Kachin Baptist Church in Nashville.
Since 2010, Dumhpya had been an independent contractor for the Village Market, operating his business, Lawn Village Market, which offered Southern students and community members a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan sushi, according to Nick Johnson, assistant store manager of the Village Market.
Several staff from the Village Market took time off from work April 8 to attend the memorial service for Dumhpya, held at Heritage Funeral Home in Chattanooga, according to Johnson. He said Dumphya will be deeply missed by the Village Market family.
“We all loved him here; he was a very hard-working Christian man,” said Johnson. “He had a really positive attitude and energy about him and was always smiling, laughing and joking around with us.”
Jehlyssa Kennedy, senior nursing major, would frequently purchase Dumhpya’s sushi from the Village Market when she was on a meal plan. She noted that Dumhpya was very accommodating to students.
“I’m allergic to sesame seeds and got to meet him and tell him about my allergy, and from then on he would make special orders for me without sesame seeds,” said Kennedy. “I used to call him ahead to pick up my order, and he always knew it was me calling, and he’d specifically bring it out to me when I got there.”
Kennedy also said that Dumhpya was “a very sweet man and so joyful and intentional about the food he made.”
Dominick Cheers, junior public relations major, worked for Dumhpya during the 2022-2023 school year.
“I worked at the Village Market three days a week during my sophomore year, and on one of those days, I would help [Dumhpya] make sushi,” said Cheers. “He taught me how to properly roll, cut and package the sushi and would tell me about how he was using his business to support his family.”
According to Cheers, Dumhpya wanted to make his sushi as affordable as possible for Southern students.
“He knew saving money is important for college students, so he charged as low as he could while still making a profit,” said Cheers. “He was the nicest guy and always had a smile on his face.”
Editor’s Note:
Dumhpya’s name was spelled differently in two separate obituaries. The Accent elected to use the spelling “Dumhpya” because that was the spelling used by his family in an obituary posted at the Village Market. Furthermore, two obituaries listed different ages for Dumhpya at the time of his passing. The Accent elected to use the age listed on Heritage Funeral Home’s website because that obituary included the year of Dumhpya’s birth.
Writer’s Note:
Although some of Dumhpya’s family members were named in his obituary, I was unable to find any leads on their contact information. Out of respect for those grieving and due to the time restraint for this article, I have personally refrained from pushing to locate more sources, and instead focused on writing this feature to inform the Collegedale community of Dumhpya’s passing.