Obituary

Dr. Waheed Samy passed away on February 20, 2011. Up until his death at age 60, Waheed was an active man both physically and intellectually; he had a tremendous joie de vivre. Born and raised in Cairo, Egypt, Waheed spent some years of his childhood and teens in Lebanon and Switzerland and lived his later years in Ann Arbor, MI.

Dr. Samy met his wife, Mary Kickham of Saginaw, MI, in 1973 while she was studying and teaching at the American University in Cairo (AUC). They were married in Saginaw in 1975 and had a daughter, Leila Samy, in 1982. Waheed became an integral part of the Kickham family (his wife's parents, Monica and Dr. Edward F. Kickham, and their eight children). When Dr. Kickham died, Waheed's steely determination sustained him as he raced through a terrible and dangerously icy blizzard on his motorcycle from his brother's home in Oakville, Canada, to be by his wife, Mary's side and support the Kickham family in Saginaw.

Author of al-Kitaba wa al-'usluub (Arabic Writing for Style), Dr. Samy, was active in presenting at conferences (e.g., the international Georgetown University Round Table) and in publishing (e.g., in the Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, Handbook for Arabic Language Teaching Professionals in the 21st Century). He reviewed many books, papers, news articles, and software packages for a range of institutions, among them, Al-Arabiyya, Britannica, Georgetown Press, Routledge, and Yale.

His expertise was in linguistics, discourse analysis, and computer-based training. He brought a unique perspective to the field of teaching Arabic to non-native speakers. With his unprecedented approach to teaching, Dr. Samy used technology and multimedia to enhance students' learning environment.

At AUC, he taught Arabic for 25 years and served as Director of the Summer Intensive Arabic Language Program for 10 years. He was also Founder and Director of AUC's Arabic Computer-Aided Language Learning Lab. During the last six years of his life, Dr. Samy taught Arabic at the University of Michigan (UM) where, among other contributions, he led the development, design, and programming of Arabic multimedia instructional software for UM's Near Eastern Studies Department. He received his PhD from UM in Ann Arbor and bachelor's and master's from AUC. He also received training and certifications in technology and multimedia from various institutions, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Samy's busy work and academic schedule did not deter him from his family life or his hobbies. With his relentless sense of humor and sterling wit, he kept his family and friends going. When distance kept him apart from loved ones, he more than made up for it in written jokes and homemade videos shared via cyberspace.

His many talents enabled him to lead a rich life. Having perfect pitch, Dr. Samy could sing, play guitar, and tune a piano by ear (without tuning instruments). Agile with languages and cultures, he could entertain his friends and family with his playful accents. Waheed was a perfect bilingual in English and Arabic. He also knew French and German, among other languages.

Among Dr. Samy's many hobbies was flying. He enjoyed building and flying remote-controlled, model airplanes; flying life-size airplanes; and using computer programs and flight simulations to practice and enhance his flying technique. He also loved riding motorcycles through city streets, along the shorelines of Europe and the Mediterranean, and racing through the deserts of North Africa "until the sands turned blue."

An avid photographer, as a young man, Waheed developed his own photos in his darkroom at home. Later, he amassed a treasure chest of digital cameras. He had an impressive portfolio of photos (of streets, cafes, people, and nature) that depict for us, through his eyes, everything from momentous to routine scenes from his vibrant life. With his video camera, he created skits funny enough to put people on the floor laughing.

Dr. Samy had a remarkable green thumb that nurtured an array of species, from delicate flowers to quirky cacti. No matter the season or climate, wherever he lived, he worked diligently to maintain his precious flora in his home, garden, and balcony. He would even develop creative schemes to protect his flowers from harmful pests without increasing his ecological footprint. Dr. Samy was a great thinker with a playful approach to life. He will be dearly missed.

Dr. Samy was predeceased by his parents, Akeel Samy and Samia Abu-Fadil. He is survived by his wife, Mary Kickham-Samy; daughter, Leila Samy of Washington DC; brother, Kareem Samy (Amina Sabry) of Oakville, Canada; 90-year-old Aunt Leila Rashad; and cousins, Hoda Rashad, Tarek El Touni, Adel and Bahira Samy of Cairo Egypt, and Magda Abu-Fadil-Chiniara of Lebanon.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Arab-American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI 48126. See: http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org . See: http://www.niefuneralhomes.com to leave a personal message to the family. In his honor, Dr. Samy's family and colleagues at UM will host memorial services. The exact time and location will be announced soon.