Obituary: Dao Dobyns Upshaw

Dao Nguyen Dobyns Upshaw, 53, a former Carson City resident, of Fullerton, Calif., died June 29, 2003, of stomach cancer. She was born in July 12, 1949 in Bacanah, Quin Nhon, Vietnam.

She came to the United States in 1975 with her first husband, Robert Dobyns; children Robert and Cathy and sister Le. She lived in Sacramento for three years before moving to Carson City.

She attended cosmetology school in Reno and received her license in 1986. She owned Get Nailed, a nail salon in Carson City. During her career, she was a teacher, gave seminars in various countries including Japan and China, was a judge at nail competitions, and was an advocate of the American Vietnamese Nail Association. She created two acrylic nail systems, LeBest and Glitz and Glamour.

She married Robert Upshaw, and they traveled to many of the nail trade shows throughout the United States. They moved to Fullerton in 1997.

Among her survivors are her husband, Robert; daughters Cathy, Theresa and Jenny, son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Monica Dobyns of Kansas City, Kan.; grandchildren Cody, Jade and Olivia Dobyns; father, Nguyen Phong, and sisters Hong, Thanh, Thu, Van and Yen, all of Vietnam; sister and brother-in-law Le and Gus Sotir of San Jose, Calif.; niece and nephews Tiffany and Timothy Dang of San Jose; and 19 nieces and nephews and many cousins, aunts and uncles, all of Vietnam.