she convinced him to join her in donating their building in Ras Beirut to the National Evangelic Church of Beirut to be used as an old age home. She is survived by her nephews and nieces from her father’s first marriage.

Vern Pings passed away on November 3, 2008. He was born in Sauk City, Wisconsin. From 1952 to 1954, he served as director of the AUB Farms (today AREC). In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Pings worked with the American Friends Service Committee and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency providing emergency relief to Palestinians in Gaza and in Beirut. Dr. Pings then switched his focus to library sciences and held teaching appointments at Kent State University, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Chicago. He is survived by his wife.

Thomas C. Weaver died on November 24 at the age of 93. During his many years in Lebanon, he taught English and music at the International College of Beirut. He is remembered by the AUB community as the organist for many special occasions at Assembly Hall and as an accomplished equestrian and well known horse show judge in the region. Born on September 20, 1915 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Weaver earned a BS from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master’s degree from the Union Theological Seminary. He left Beirut and returned to his home state of Ohio in 1989. He is survived by a nephew, a cousin, and numerous friends.

Alumni

Shafik Milhem Shabshab (BBA ’37) passed away in September 2008 in Beirut.  Born in Hasbaya, Beqa’a in 1912, Shafik Shabshab was one of few students from the Beqa’a area who managed to register at AUB and study business administration. After graduation in 1937, he traveled to Najaf, Iraq and taught mathematics at several secondary schools for two years. In 1939 he returned to Beirut and started work at AUB in the Comptroller’s Office. He later on moved to the Internal Audit Department and remained there until his retirement in 1978. Shabshab was a generous donor to his alma mater and established the Shafik Milhem Shabshab Endowed Scholarship Fund to provide financial assistance to needy and qualified Lebanese students at AUB.

Rito Vincent V. Grieco (MS ’39, MD ’39) passed away on June 26, 2008, at the age of 96. While at AUB he studied under renowned pathologist and toxicologist Professor Edmund Mayer. Grieco, a radiologist and teacher, was recognized for his humanitarian service at the Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, where he served as codirector of the Department of Radiology. He had fond memories of AUB, where he met his wife Viola Cardwell, a protestant missionary nurse.

Fawzi A. Pualwan, who died November 15, 2008, studied at AUB in the early 1940s and completed his bachelor’s and medical degrees at Vanderbilt University. He served in the US Army as a commanding officer and chief of surgery in Korea, and earned the Commendation Ribbon and Medal for outstanding service. In 1960, Pualwan moved his family to Worcester where he practiced medicine for 35 years. Pualwan was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society and the Worcester Committee on Foreign Relations, and a long standing member of the Wesley United Methodist Church. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, his three children, two grandchildren, and a brother.

Henry A. Azar (BA ’48, MD ’52) died in July in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 1952, he emigrated to the United States, where he began his medical career at New York City Hospital. His medical legacy includes professorships at Columbia University, the University of Kansas, and the University of South Florida, where he was a professor of anatomical pathology for twenty years. In 1998, he received his PhD in medical history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, focusing on the transfer of medical knowledge from Moorish Spain to Medieval Christendom. At age 71, he was the oldest PhD recipient from the UNC systems. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and two grandsons.

Former Lebanese MP Andre Tabourian (BBA ’50) died October 7, 2008. Tabourian, a philanthropist and civic activist, and his brother Gerard honored their father by establishing the Karekin Tabourian Dentofacial Clinic at AUBMC. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and their families.

Andrew G. Suidan (MD ’51) passed away on February 23, 2008. Born on December 20, 1924, Dr. Suidan is survived by his wife and son, and a brother.

Kamal Hemady (BA ’52, MD ’56) a professor of urology at AUBMC, died on December 6, 2008. He was 78. “Professor Kamal Hemady was a pioneer, mentor, teacher, colleague, friend, and a highly dedicated man,” said Dr. Nadim Cortas, vice president for medical affairs and the Raja N. Khuri Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

Following his graduation from AUB, he trained in pediatric urology at the Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio and at the New York Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center, before returning to Lebanon to become the country’s first pediatric urologist.

In 1964, Hemady joined the Faculty of Medicine in the Department of Surgery, and was promoted to professor of surgery (urology) in 1985.

He insisted on staying in Lebanon during the civil war and in 1982 established the first urology specialty training program in Lebanon and the region. He was chief of the Division of Urology from 1985 to 1997, and chair of the Department of Surgery, 1994-99. He established the Kamal and Nuha Hemady Scholarship to support AUB medical students. Dr. Kamal Hemady is survived by two children, their families, and generations of students who will keep his legacy alive.

Nayif Jarmakani (BA ’57) We recently heard that Jarmakani, a successful entrepreneur in Nigeria, passed away on August 29, 2005 in Beirut. Born December 31, 1933 in Salkhad, Al Sweida, Syria, he came to Lebanon as the first in his family to pursue higher education. Following graduation, Jarmakani taught English in Aleppo, Syria and in Kuwait.  In the early 1960s, he moved to Nigeria where he started a number of businesses, including transport, construction, and furniture companies. Nayif Jarmakani is survived by his wife and four sons. Following in his father’s footsteps, his youngest son, Anwar, is currently a student at AUB.

El-Toum Babiker Abdelrahman Umbarak (BA ’67) was born in Kamlin, Sudan. He studied geography at AUB, but made his mark as an Arabic-English translator, notably with the World Bank in Washington, DC. While there, he was a strong advocate for his countrymen and set up the Sudan Care Foundation, Inc. He and his British wife retired to their Blue Nile farm, where he died on May 16, 2008. He is survived by a daughter who lives in the United States and a son in Khartoum.

Yusuf Zarour (BA ’67) passed away on September 19, 2008, in Beirut at the age of 65. After graduating from AUB, Zarour continued his studies at the State University of New York in Albany, where he earned a PhD in management and political affairs. In the early 1980s, he was the general manager of 3M in Beirut and regional general manager of Abela & Co.  Yusuf Zarour was most recently senior vice president of Support Services at Emirates Flight Catering Company (EKFC) in Dubai. He started AUB’s Omani Alumni Chapter in 1988 and was an active alumnus in the Dubai and Northern Emirates Chapters where he earned the AUB Shield for his contribution and support of needy students.  He is survived by his wife Najat (BA ’68) and daughters Hiba and Hana.

Khaled M. Seoud (BS ’08) son of Muhieddine Seoud (BS ’73, MD ’82) and Randa Kawakibi (BArch ’84) passed away at age 21 on September 1, 2008, while undergoing a procedure involving a CT scan-guided needle biopsy. He had just graduated with a BS in biology and had been accepted in the medical school at Balamand University. Though he was never able to realize his dream of becoming a doctor, Khaled Seoud was a true believer who touched the lives of all who knew him. He will be eternally remembered by his beloved family and loyal friends.

Shukri F. Khuri 1943-2008 (BS ’64, MD ’68) embodied the best of AUB. He was a highly distinguished surgeon and medical professional whose efforts vastly improved surgical care across the United States in VA (Veteran’s Administration) medical centers. He was also an unflagging supporter of AUB. I knew Shukri when he was the president of the Alumni Association of North America, and he was an enthusiastic member of the task force that led to the creation of WAAAUB. AUB recognized him early in his career with the Penrose Award.

He went on to become chief of surgery at the Brockton/West Roxbury VA Medical Center and the VA Boston Healthcare System, professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, and vice chairman of the Surgery Department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He died before he could accept the 2008 Ernest Amory Codman Award for improving the safety of medical care for the public, an award his family says would have made him extremely proud.

Promoting Palestinian-Israeli peace and understanding was a cause he held very close to his heart. He is survived by his wife Randa, whom he met at AUB, his mother, a brother, and three children.

Philip S. Khoury
Trustee, AUB

Our Legacy

Nahida Fadli Dajani’s life was a testament to her belief in people’s capacity to transform their lives into expressions of goodness and acts of generosity. For decades, people began and ended their days listening to her healing voice carry a message of hope and transformation. She was a poet and a pioneer in radio and television broadcasting and programming. Most importantly, Nahida Fadli Dajani was passionate about providing all people with opportunities for growth and development. In that spirit we, Nahida's family, initiated the Nahida Fadli Dajani Memorial Scholarship. We wanted to immortalize her greatest pleasure by providing talented people with financial need access to a great University where they can transform their lives into expressions of goodness and service.

Many alumni and friends choose to remember loved ones, or honor their association with AUB by making a legacy gift.

Giving makes a difference. Contact giving@aub.edu.lb to learn more.

http://give.aub.edu