ELKATEB, Theeby A.

The saddest part of life is when the people who gave you memories, become a memory.

Our wife and mother came to Canada February 10, 1959, not knowing the language, with no immediate family to help her navigate her new life. During those early years, she would forge friendships that lasted her lifetime.

Mum was a trailblazer, an environmentalist and conservationist before these were commonly known, done out of necessity and traditional knowledge, she never wasted anything.

Food scraps went to the compost pile to be used on the gardens. She sewed, knit, and created many things for her family, most often creating embarrassment for her children who wanted store-bought things. We often took Middle Eastern food to school, prompting others to ask, "what's that." Some were interested, some, not so much.

Our food came from the gardens our parents lovingly nurtured. Our mother had many flower gardens over the years. She knew every kind of flower, tree, and herb she grew. We always marveled at her knowledge of flowers, plants, and trees. Years later we would come to understand that those very flowers were her escape from raising her family of six children.

How grateful we are that she passed along her wonderful cooking and baking skills, along with her sense of caring for our Earth.

Mum celebrated her 85th birthday May 14th and passed away May 15th with her husband of 63 years, Mohamed, eldest daughter Celwa and grandson Dariush, by her side at Harbourview Haven in Lunenburg.

She is survived by her husband, Mohamed, her children Celwa (Reza), Aisha (George), Fedwa (Paul), Houda (former spouse Mario), Suehila (James) and Moneir (former spouse Rose), and her grandchildren Stephanie, Olivia, Dariush and Gabriel. She is also survived by her sisters Souad and Fatima, many nieces and nephews and the Assaff family of Western Shore. She is predeceased by her sister Mariam, her brother Mustapha and son-in-law Alexander Rybcyzn.

We would like to acknowledge the kindness and compassion of all staff at Harbourview Haven, particularly mum's caretakers, especially Serena who referred to her as "Mom."

We Are Forever grateful to you all. Additionally, we want to acknowledge the lifelong friendships of Annette Ali, Tilly Lohnes, Yvonne Tobacco, Jean Hatt, Randy and Barbara Keddy, the Ali Family, the Younis family, the Sode family and many, many others in the South Shore and all over Nova Scotia that are too many to name. She was loved by many.

Burial has already taken place. A celebration of life will be held at a later date to be announced. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Nova Scotia Islamic Community Centre at https://nsicc.ca/donate/