SAEED o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2008-02-29 published
QUAZI,
Masooda
Saeed
Wife, mother, grandmother, pioneer for her family and community.
Born March 26, 1928, in Aligarh, India. Died July 28, 2007, in
Toronto of sepsis, aged 79.
By Tariq SAEED,
Page L8
No one could have imagined that Masooda would live in three countries
and spend the majority of her life as a Canadian. Born into a
family of landlords in India, she was expected to live a comfortable
life, have an arranged marriage at an early age and stay in the
same area.
Masooda's mother died when she was a child, so she lived with
an aunt and later her elder sister, who also died at a young
age.
Masooda enrolled in a bachelor's and then a master's program
at Aligarh Muslim University with plans to teach. She made another
breach with tradition when she independently accepted a marriage
proposal from Quazi
SAEED, an engineering student and later faculty
member at the same university. They were devoted to each other
for 54 years of marriage, until his death in 2004.
After the partition of India, Quazi secured a job as an engineer
in what is now Bangladesh. They lived in small towns where he
was involved in building roads and bridges. Masooda home-schooled
her two children, Tariq and Tahir.
In 1960, the family moved to Canada because of turmoil in the
region where they lived. After Quazi did further university studies
in Canada, he contemplated going back home. Masooda, however,
felt that Canada would be best for the family as it offered opportunities
for her children, more rights for women and respect for the rule
of law.
While maintaining her religion, Masooda adapted to the Canadian
way of doing things and was patriotic toward her new country.
Ours was one of the first South Asian Muslim families in Toronto,
and later in Sudbury. My parents were involved in setting up
the first mosque and community centre in Toronto. They helped
many newcomers to the country and were involved with local charitable
organizations.
Shortly after her arrival in Canada, Masooda became chronically
ill with rheumatoid arthritis, for which few treatments were
available. She could not work or follow a career but she devoted
herself to her children and family.
She never told us how much pain she had in her joints and would
not let us help with housework, so we could spend more time on
our studies. Her proudest achievement was helping her children
become university graduates and follow successful careers.
In later years, she helped mentor and guide her five grandchildren.
After her death, one of her Friends said that she had fulfilled
her goals of setting up her family in Canada and living long
enough to ensure that her grandchildren were on the right path.
Tariq SAEED is Masooda's son.
S... Names SA... Names SAE... Names Welcome Home
SAEED - All Categories in OGSPI
SAEVITZON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2008-03-22 published
SHAUL,
Bayla
On Friday, March 21, 2008 at Sunnybrook Hospital. Bayla
SHAUL,
beloved wife of Alfred
SHAUL.
Loving mother and mother-in-law
of Randi SHAUL and David
SAEVITZON, Jeff
SHAUL, and Brenda
SHAUL
and Mitch LEIBOWITZ. Dear sister and sister-in-law of Harry and
Marilyn SEIGEL, and Faye and the late William
SEIGEL.
Devoted
grandmother of Michael, Jill, Natalie, and Daniel. At Benjamin's
Park Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Avenue W., (three lights west
of Dufferin) for service on Sunday, March 23rd at 1: 30 p.m. Interment,
Temple Sinai section of Pardes Shalom Cemetery. Shiva 8 Savoy
Cres., Thornhill with daily visits from 2: 00 p.m. Donations may
be made to The Bayla Shaul Memorial Fund for The Multi-Organ
Transplant Program at Toronto General Hospital, c/o The Benjamin
Foundation, 3429 Bathurst Street, M6A 2C3, 416-780-0324.
S... Names SA... Names SAE... Names Welcome Home
SAEVITZON - All Categories in OGSPI