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In Memoriam
Abdo I. Baaklini (BA ’60,
MA ’63) died on November 11, 2003, in Glens Falls, New York,
after a long illness. He was 65. Born in 1938 in Dhour Shweir, Lebanon,
he was the son of Iskandar A. Baaklini and Sadah Yacoub Baaklini.
Following his graduation from AUB with degrees in Public Administration,
he went on to receive his PhD in Political Science from the State
University of New York (SUNY) in Albany, for which he completed
a dissertation entitled, “Legislatures and Political Development:
Lebanon 1840–1970.”
Baaklini, as the director of the Center for Legislative Development
at the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
at SUNY-Albany, was instrumental in obtaining a number of grants
and contracts from US federal agencies to research, design, and
implement projects to strengthen and promote visible democratic
systems and good governance in Africa, Asia, Central and South America,
the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. He joined SUNY in 1972 as an
assistant professor and became full professor in 1994. His areas
of expertise included legislative administration and policy, development
and international administration, comparative politics and administration,
public management, and organizational theory. Baaklini traveled
extensively and spoke several languages, including Arabic, English,
French, Portuguese, and Spanish. He was the author of several books
and numerous articles and received the first Rockefeller College
Lifetime Achievement Award from SUNY-Albany. He had previously worked
at AUB as a specialist in personnel and regional training. Baaklini
is survived by his wife, Rehab Karami, and their two children.
Lucien Dahdah (BA ’49), former
Foreign Minister of Lebanon died on November 16, 2003, at the age
of 74. He had served in the interim military cabinet of Noureddine
Rifai in May 1975 and was the only civilian minister in the cabinet.
Born in 1929, Dahdah studied at AUB, at the Sorbonne in Paris, and
at several universities in England. He was also a professor at AUB
and later chaired the board of directors of Intra Investment from
1970 to 1976 and again from 1989 to 1993. Prominent in the development
of media agencies, he was a founding member of the Tele-Orient television
station and a founder of the Monte-Carlo Moyen-Orient Radio Station.
Jamil Karsh (BA ’42, MD ’46) of Middlebury, Connecticut,
died on July 2, 2002 at the age of 82. Dr. Karsh emigrated to Canada
after finishing his studies at AUB and later moved to the United
States, where he practiced medicine in Waterbury, Connecticut, until
his retirement 1993. He married Marjorie Hare and they had two sons,
Allen and Steven. He always spoke fondly of his memories of AUB.
A great man, always kind and loving to friends and family, he is
deeply missed.
Daniel Katibah (BA ’38, MD
’43) died on November 11, 2002, at the age of 87. He was married
to the late Lily Ramez Sarkis and they had three children, Walid,
Nabil, and Aida, who are all AUB graduates. From 1943 to 1948, Dr.
Katibah served as an intern and resident at the American Presbyterian
Mission Hospital in Tripoli, after which he practiced surgery for
several years. He founded the New Assi Hospital in Homs, Syria,
in 1948, which is still in existence. Dr. Katibah was president
of the Order of Physicians in Homs, Syria, in 1965-66 and served
for many years as a member of the executive committee and chairman
of the medical committee of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria
and Lebanon. He was also on the board of overseers of the Lebanese
American University.
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Latifa Ghandour Mneimneh (MD ’55)
died on October 12, 2003, at the age of 74. After completing her
medical studies, she was an associate professor in the Department
of Pathology at AUB until 1977, after which she moved to the United
States. There, she completed her residency and a fellowship in pathology
at Harvard University Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Mneimneh then became a professor of pathology at the University
of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital Medical Center, where she remained
for over 20 years. She was the author of many published medical
articles. Dr. Mneimneh will be always remembered for her kindness
towards her patients, students, and colleagues. She was a remarkable
teacher and an outstanding surgical pathologist who earned the respect
of all who interacted with her. She is survived by her husband,
Dr. Walid Mneimneh, and their three children.
Jean Moadié (MD ’47)
passed away peacefully at the AUBMC on November 24, 2003, at the
age of 80. He was born in Zahleh on February 7, 1923. Throughout
his career, he was greatly interested in two major medical fields:
aviation medicine and allergies. He was among the founders of aviation
medicine in Lebanon and was entrusted with periodically examining
the pilots of the Lebanese air fleets. He also represented Lebanon
at many conferences and executive meetings related to civil aviation
medicine around the world. Dr. Moadié, who was responsible
for the Medical Center’s OPD for many years, was an extremely
thorough physician and is remembered with affection and admiration
as a devoted teacher and gentleman.
During his last days, he often reminded his friends that he had
studied medicine thanks to a generous scholarship provided by the
Shehadeh family. Wanting to show his thanks, Dr. Moadié expressed
his wish that an endowment fund in his name be established for a
scholarship at the Faculty of Medicine. He will be remembered with
much love and devotion by his sister, Hilda, and by his relatives,
friends, patients, and colleagues.
Yacoub D. Soussou (BS Pharmacy ’65) died in Montreal
on July 25, 2003, at the age of 65 after having braved a long illness
with remarkable courage. Soussou was the eldest of eight brothers
and sisters, all of whom graduated from AUB with different degrees.
During his years at the School of Pharmacy, he was a very active
student. He was captain of the football team and president of the
Pharmacy Students Society—and the many interesting activities
he organized are still remembered by all those who knew him. After
graduation, Soussou worked as production manager of a local pharmaceutical
company, then moved to Doha, Qatar, during the Lebanese civil war,
where he opened a trading company that handled hospital equipment.
Two decades later, Soussou settled in Montreal, Canada, where he
also established a trading company. He is survived by his wife Jeanne
d'Arc Baradi and their sons David, Freddy, and Charles.
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