Obituary of Ezeldine "Aby" Abdallah

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Ezeldine passed away peacefully and with his family by his side at St. Mary’s Hospital, Kitchener on May 1, 2020 at the age of 77 years.

He was survived by his loving wife Zeinab of 49 years of marriage, his cherished four children: Maher (Cinnamon), Mona (Dennis), Rana (Bojan) and Sam (Patricia) and his wonderful nine grandchildren:  Maximus, Emerson, Zoe, Tommy, Jax, Maya, Marco, Tristan, Brayden, with another one on the way.

Ezeldine, or also called Aby by many of his friends, was often described, without question, as one of the greatest, toughest, most loyal and hardest working men that anyone has known.   A man of few words, but those words carried a lot of weight. 

A selfless individual, Ezeldine was always willing to help, not just for his family but anyone who needed it.  He was smart, talented, resourceful and creative.  There was no challenge that he would back down from or one he couldn’t solve.  If something needed fixing, he would learn how to fix it.  If it were unfixable, he would rebuild it.  From building a wood-burning stove, an extension on the house, repairing cars, doing plumbing and everything in between, he adopted the nickname ‘MacGyver’ because of his abilities to build anything from anything. 

Although he was a serious man, Ezeldine’s personality shined through his sense of humour and his soft heart.  He had a passion for gardening and making his home beautiful, travelling, fishing and most of all, enjoying time with family and friends (even his children’s friends genuinely loved to be around him and listen to his funny and heart-warming stories).  Ezeldine also loved playing cards, and when he arrived home, he would share his Friday night’s winnings with his children and celebrate with a dozen fresh donuts from Tim Hortons.

Throughout the years, Ezeldine would vacation with his wife and children to sunny destinations and sandy beaches where he loved to swim, fish, and laugh.   After retirement, that tradition continued on with his children and grandchildren where they would make new memories in places like Cuba, Mexico, and Dominican Republic.  For the last ten years, you could find him and his wife Zeinab, in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, making new friends, fishing, swimming and living life to the fullest.     

Special thanks to the incredibly compassionate doctors, nurses and staff at St. Mary’s Hospital who took special care of him in the last four weeks of his life.  And a very special heartfelt thank you to Dr. Rosenstein and the PD Clinic nurses and staff for their ongoing compassion, support and for helping Aby make it to the Bahamas each year. 

Ezeldine was born in Palestine but grew up in Latakia, Syria.  When he turned 18, he left Syria for Germany to study mechanical engineering.  He then left Germany to come to Canada to start a new life and have a family.  Living in Canada brought him work as a sheet metal worker at Budd Automotive, a loyal employee for 30 years.  His tenure there was filled with so many achievements. 
 

There was a ‘Budding idea’ program that gave him the platform to design and build things that would improve productivity, ergonomics and safety for his fellow co-workers.  Throughout his career, he was motivated to be a model employee, where he worked seven days a week, twelve and sometimes sixteen hours a day, right up to his retirement, with the goal to provide for his family.  Even though he worked so much, he still made time for his family, assisting them with life milestones, and taking vacations where the best and most cherished family moments were made.    

Ezeldine had fought many hardships in his final years.  Being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa eventually cost him his sight and being such a visual individual who worked with his hands, made regular everyday life difficult to adapt to.  However, he was the eleventh person in Canada to receive the Bionic Eye Retinal Implant, another testament to his drive and determined personality.  He was also battling kidney disease which further complicated his health but, regardless, he still persevered and made the most of life.  In early 2020, Ezeldine and Zeinab lost their family home in a devastating house fire and then started another battle with COVID-19.  Although his pre-existing conditions had the odds stacked against him, for six weeks, Ezeldine fought with his heart every day.   Unfortunately, his body could not recover and his hard fought, courageous battle came to an end at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 2020, due to complications from COVID-19.

The world had lost a great one, a legend, an amazing soul.  Heaven has a new angel and our family has a new guardian angel.  We love you forever. 

Note from Maher Abdallah, son of Ezeldine and Zeinab.  “Dad, thanks for everything.  I would not be the man that I am today without your guidance and love.  Thank you for my life!  My heart hurts because there is now a piece missing from it.  I will cherish all the memories.  I love you and miss you incredibly.  Until we meet again, I will be still talking to you because I know that you are still with me. Love your son, Maher”

A private family graveside service was held at Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo on Sunday, May 3, 2020. 

To celebrate and honour the life of Ezeldine (Aby) Abdallah on what would be his 79th birthday, his family invites you to attend a memorial visitation at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St. S., Waterloo on Friday, October 1, 2021 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. To attend the visitation, please wear a face mask, observe physical distancing, and register (RSVP) to the funeral home at www.erbgood.com or by calling 519-745-8445. A private family memorial service will follow the visitation.

Condolences for the family and donations to the FFB (Foundation Fighting Blindness)  may be arranged through the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King Street South, Waterloo at www.erbgood.com or 519-745-8445.