In Memoriam

Nasri Salti (BBA ’44) was born in Haifa, Palestine in 1924, and passed away on May 15, 2020 at the age of 96 in Toronto, Canada. He had a long, successful career manufacturing soap, olive oil and tobacco products throughout the Middle East before entering global markets in cement production. He was an avid traveler with a deep appreciation of diverse cultures. A family man to the core, Salti will be remembered for his generosity, quick wit and humor, his enormous capacity for compassion and love, his appreciation of good food, and his endless stories about Palestine and his adventurous career. He is survived by his wife; Suad, and his children; Farah Salti and Ibtisam Salti-Kassouf, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Richard (Dick) Freije (BA ’52, BS ’56) passed away on September 27, 2019. Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1931 to Amin Freiji (BA ’13) and Labibeh Kourani, Freije returned with his family to Lebanon in 1937, where he attended Brumana High School and earned his degrees in business administration and economics and in agricultural engineering. As part of AUB’s first class of agricultural engineers, Freije started his own business in Zahle selling farm and light industrial equipment to the Beqaa agricultural community. He lived in his ancestral hometown of Ma’alak Zahle and farmed his beloved farm until the final days of his life. Freije is survived by his sister Leila M. Freije (BA ’48), who was university librarian and acting librarian at Jafet from 1951–91, his wife Joyce Badran, his children Dr. Natalie Azar (BS ’84), Mayda Freije Makdessi (faculty in the Department of Architecture and Design since 2004), Amin Freije, and nine grandchildren.

A leader, mentor, and noted figure in the AUB medical community for nearly sixty years, Fayez G. Suidan (BA ’51, MD ’55) passed away on March 28.  He completed his residency training in surgery at AUB, and in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago. Returning to AUB in 1962, Dr. Suidan served as a clinical professor in obstetrics and gynecology until his retirement in 2018. He educated generations of students and residents over decades of exceptionally dedicated service. His contributions to the specialty of obstetrics and gynecology were recognized nationally and internationally. Among Suidan’s many honors are the National Order of the Cedar Medal—Commander Rank, the Medal of Appreciation from the Lebanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Order of Merit from the American College of Surgeons. In addition to his professional achievements, Dr. Suidan is remembered by many for delivering wonderful additions to their families. He is predeceased by his wife Laurence (Lola) Tamer Suidan, and survived by his children Nada, Zeina, Nayla, and Antoine, and nine grandchildren.

Alice Baz Haddad Melikian (BA ’55) was born in Jerusalem in 1929 and passed away on April 22 at the age of 90 in Toronto, Canada. A pioneer in higher education for women in the mid-twentieth century, she followed her bachelor’s degree in general education with a master’s degree in statistics and educational measurement from the University of Minnesota.  Melikian then returned to Lebanon to work as dean of students at what is now known as Lebanese American University.  In 1957, she married Dr. Levon Melikian (1917–2007), dean of students and professor of psychology at AUB and the University of Qatar. They retired to Toronto, Canada, in 1985, and Alice pursued her passion for art. She produced many watercolor works and exhibited them throughout the Toronto area over the years. Melikian is survived by her sisters Mary Suidan and Diana Tabry, and nephews Anthony Suidan and Roger Tabry, as well as four nieces on her husband’s side, and a total of seven grandnieces and grandnephews.

Munir Emile Nassar (BS ’55, MD ’59) was born in Beirut in 1934 and passed away in Rochester, New York, on October 17, 2019. Nassar completed residencies at the AUB Medical Center and the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, and a fellowship in clinical cardiology at the New York Presbyterian Medical Center. His medical practice centered on primary care and cardiology. For the past several years Nassar practiced in the Out-Patient Department of the VA Medical Hospital in Rochester, New York. He was a member of the American Medical Association. His interests included travel, classical music, tennis, and writing. He was a very good tennis player, and the author of three books on his medical career and his family tree. Nasser is survived by his wife Leila George Nassar (BS ’58), his children Ramzi and Rania, and two grandchildren.

Artin H. Malakian (BS ’57, MS ’64) passed away peacefully at the age of 87 on April 11. With degrees in pharmacy, bacteriology, and virology, he taught at AUB until 1965, when he began his doctorate in immunology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and subsequently completed his post-doctorate at Yale University. He returned to AUB in 1969 as a professor and researcher. His many years at AUB had a substantial impact on his life, and he often spoke of the important and innovative research performed there. In 1976, Malakian and his family immigrated to the United States, where he worked in several successful pharmaceutical and life science companies as a research scientist specializing in advanced hybridoma technology. During his career, he contributed to numerous scientific publications. Known to his friends and family as “Henry,” he was energetic, fun-loving, and outspoken. He will be remembered as a great teacher by his many students, and as an intelligent collaborator by his colleagues. Fiercely loyal to his family, he always put them first. Malakian is survived by his wife Ina, his children Irina and Karl, and his brothers George and Paul, who will miss his clever wit, sense of humor, and strong presence.

Nabil Izzat Jarudi (BS ’62, MD ’66) passed away on April 2, in Westwood, Massachusetts. He completed studies and training in ophthalmology at AUB, the University of Missouri, and the University of Iowa. Dr. Jarudi established a medical practice in Beirut and became known during the civil war for his surgical expertise in corneal surgery and war injuries to the eye. He joined AUBMC in 1975 and pioneered procedures in Lebanon and the region in corneal transplantation and the implantation of an intraocular lens in cataract surgery. In 1987, Jarudi moved to the United States and became a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. He also trained surgical residents at Boston University, had a private practice, and saw patients in the VA Boston Healthcare System. Despite a full life in Boston, he stayed close to AUB with frequent visits to teach and mentor students and faculty. Before the advent of Lebanon’s Eye Bank, he helped to procure critical cornea specimens for transplantation. Jarudi is survived by his wife Mona (Turk) (BS ’78); children Lemma, Raceel, Izzat, and Maysa; his siblings Hisham Jaroudi (BARCH ’66, AUB trustee), Usama, Adnan, Mona (Bechara), and Mazen (BEN ’87); and two grandchildren.

Born in Beirut, Alex A Bezjian (BA ’63, MD ’67) passed away on December 31, 2019, from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). After graduation, he completed an OBGYN residency at the University of Miami (UM) and joined the faculty, where he soon became the youngest tenured professor at the UM Medical School. A pioneer of the diagnostic science of OBGYN ultrasound in the early 1970s, Bezjian advanced the technology through research and performed sonograms on women with the most complicated obstetrical cases in South Florida in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1986, he went into private practice, specializing in OBGYN ultrasound and prenatal genetic diagnosis with amniocentesis. He had offices in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Lakes, and South Miami. In demand as a speaker, he also authored many journal publications in addition to writing two textbook chapters. He was a member of the national OBGYN ultrasound society and was president of the Miami OBGYN Society in 1988. He retired from practice in 2000. His favorite hobbies were tennis and thoroughbred horseracing. When he was young, he was a member of the Lebanese tennis team and represented Lebanon against many Middle Eastern countries including Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Kuwait, and Greece. He is survived by his wife Marianne, his children Alex Jr. and Marisa, and one grandchild.

Roger I. Malek (BE ’69), was born in Beirut in 1941 and passed away a few days short of his 78^th birthday. He regarded education as one of life’s most important assets, always fondly recounting stories of his time at the International School of Choueifat and at AUB. After completing his degree, Malek was hired as a manager at Metito. He soon became known for his engineering expertise and his intricate knowledge of water treatment. When Lebanon’s civil war erupted, he moved to Saudi Arabia, where he had a long career in contracting and construction. He spent the decade before he retired in 2016 as a technical manager at CCE Saudi before moving to Montreal, Canada, to join his family. Always at the forefront of technological advancements, Malek never missed an opportunity to learn. Even after retirement he learned Arduino (an open-source electronic prototyping platform), assembled 3D lasers, built model airplanes, painted countless scenery-filled backdrops, and improved his photography skills. His love for his homeland remained strong even in absentia as was evidenced by his passionate descriptions of Lebanon’s monuments. He was one of a kind with his signature Rock Hudson hairstyle, aviator sunglasses, remarkable dexterity, and bountiful knowledge. He will be deeply missed by his wife Janan, daughter Nour, son Jad, sisters, nephews, and nieces.

Bernard J. Brandstater was born in Perth, Australia, in 1929, and passed away in California in January at the age of 90. He earned his medical degree from Adelaide University, Australia, received a Fulbright grant for postgraduate studies in anesthesiology at the University of Pennsylvania, and completed further studies in London teaching hospitals before coming to AUB in 1956. Brandstater pioneered several medical advances during his 13-year tenure at AUB. Appointed as the founding chairman of AUB’s Department of Anesthesiology in 1958, his achievements included groundbreaking work in epidural anesthesia in obstetrics, work on tetanus in newborns that led to a model for the practice of pediatric intensive care and laid the foundation for AUB’s acclaimed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, designing better operating room suites, establishing a research laboratory, and introducing blood gas analysis. He was the founding editor of the Middle East Journal of Anesthesiology, and in 1965, he convened the first international congress of Middle East anesthesiologists on the AUB campus. In recent years, Brandstater joined with AUB FM doctors Fouad Salim Haddad (BA ’44, MD ’48) and Musa Khalil Muallem (BA ’53, MD ’57) in coauthoring a history of AUB’s Department of Anesthesiology. After AUB, Brandstater moved to Loma Linda University (LL) in Southern California, where he continued to do innovative work, helped establish the LL heart team that took open-heart surgery to developing countries, was a leader in chronic pain management, and established the LL anesthesia department as a leading post-graduate training program in the United States. Brandstater is survived by his wife Beverly; his four children, Suzanne, Kerry, Nigel, and Elizabeth; his children’s mother, Neridah; and seven grandchildren.

John Pickard Crawford passed away on December 2, 2019, in Boulder, Colorado. Born in Beirut in 1929, he grew up on the AUB campus, where his family had been involved with the development of the college since 1857. His early schooling was at the American Community School, and his boyhood summers were spent hiking and playing tennis in Ainab, Lebanon, and Bludan, Syria. Crawford attended Colby College in Maine and completed a doctorate in geology at Columbia University in New York in 1957. He worked in the oil industry for Esso in Libya and then for 20 years at ARAMCO in Dhahran, KSA. Bringing expertise and enthusiasm to all endeavors, Crawford was civically minded throughout his life, and he enjoyed tennis and bridge, homemade wine and spirits, gardening and golf. He is survived by his sisters Molly Potter and Alice Nicolson; by Kate, his wife of more than 60 years; his children John, Laura, and Lydia; and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. The family has requested that donations in John’s memory be made to AUB’s Mary and Archie S. Crawford Scholarship Fund.

Born on December 15, 1923, Freeman John Dyson passed away in Princeton, New Jersey, on February 20 at the age of 96. He was an English-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician whose breakthrough work unifying quantum and electrodynamic theory ranks among the great achievements of modern science. His unquenchable curiosity and intellectual leadership across cultures, addressing issues of global and even planetary concern, never failed to challenge and expand conventional thought. Dyson worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton for more than 60 years. In November 2018, he was the inaugural recipient of AUB’s Presidential Science and Humanism Award. He is survived by his wife Imme, six children, and 16 grandchildren.

Friends

*We Remember includes deaths from July 2019 – February 2020.