Samir D. Mikhail Obituary (1938 - 2022) - North Brunswick Township, New Jersey

In Loving Memory of MR. SAMIR MIKHAIL "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) The Mikhail family is heartbroken to announce the passing of their beloved Mr. Samir Mikhail. Samir Mikhail, 83, of Edison, NJ passed away on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. He is survived by his loving family: Devoted husband of the late Siham Mikhail Cherished father of David Mikhail Beloved sibling of Narges Behman, Zu Zu Mikhail, Magda Guirguis, Nabil Guirguis, R'agaa Youseff, Joseph Wissa, and Franziska Wissa Admired Uncle of Peter Mikhail, Bassem Mikhail, Neveen Mikhaili, Christian Guirguis, Christine Guirguis, Patrick Guirguis, Mona Wissa, Lydia Wissa, Michael Wissa There will be a CONDOLENCE service on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 starting at 7pm until 9pm at St. Moses & Anba Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church, 40 Davidson Road East, Piscataway, NJ 08854. The FUNERAL SERVICE and Prayers will be on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 10:30am immediately after the Divine Liturgy of the Believers which shall start promptly at 8:00AM at St. Moses & Anba Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church, 40 Davidson Road East, Piscataway, NJ 08854. The INTERMENT will be at Marlboro Memorial Cemetery located at 361 Hwy 79, Morganville, NJ 07751 immediately following the funeral prayers. May the Lord repose his soul in peace in the Heavenly Jerusalem in the bosom of our Fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. LIFE STORY OF MR SAMIR MIKHAIL A little less than 80 years ago, a small boy living in a poor, rural village in Upper Egypt experienced a rare treat. The young boy watched a motion picture produced in America. While he paid little attention to the people or the plot, he focused on the mystical place that was being featured. Many decades later, he was still able to recount the green pastures of that location. That mystical place was New Jersey, the place where that boy would ultimately spend more than 50 years of his life, until Samir Mikhail's life ended on June 22, 2022. Samir Mikhail was born on October 6th, 1938. His penchant for optimism, storytelling and humor would sustain him from his humble beginnings to his exciting city life as a young Cairene, living with his cherished brothers. During this time in Cairo, he stood a bit too close (though innocently) to a woman while riding on a bus, which elicited her vocal and intense objection. This would be the unlikely genesis of a union that led to his marriage to Siham, a marriage that lasted for 49 years. In 1970, Samir and Siham began their American odyssey, landing in West New York, New Jersey. While their early times in the United States were hard, they were also soulful. Samir often reminisced about viewing the New York skyline from their apartment on the other side of the river and enjoying the active nightly sounds of young men playing basketball late into the evening. Samir's appreciation for basketball extended to his love (and heartbreak) for the New York Knicks, a team he came to love upon witnessing the famed backcourt of Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe lead the way to an NBA Championship in 1973. By 1976, Samir would become a father to his only child, David, and he would find his footing as an industrial chemist. In 1979, Samir and the family moved to Edison, New Jersey, which would be his home for the next 43 years. He would help raise his son; do his human, imperfect best as a husband to his wife; and maintain his commitment to his closest communities--his church and, in his later years, his dialysis clinic. All the while, he never forgot his roots, maintaining regular contact with his family in Egypt and providing substantial financial support for decades. In 2018, Siham died a tragic and prolonged death. For the next four years, Samir had to fundamentally reorient his way of life, and, in the process, reconnect with his will to live. In response to this enormous challenge, he would resurrect himself from his sadness to rejoin the living. Samir would crack jokes at the dialysis clinic again. He once again desired to explore the world (at least as far as the Jersey Shore). And for his son, who was equally distraught by Siham's death, Samir would become a beacon of hope and strength. When Covid struck, Samir was forced to rely entirely on himself in light of quarantining. He embraced this challenge and excelled. He lived his life, bravely and carefully. He kept the house in shape. He would get all of his groceries while making several sojourns every week to Costco. He made sure all (or most) of the bills were paid. Samir found an agency in his 80s that he might have forgotten he possessed. As a result, he died a hero to his son. Samir was far from perfect. But he came to fundamentally understand the precious, delicate nature of time and used this understanding to heal the wounds that needed healing, to fix the matters in his life that needed fixing, and to express his love and apologies to his wife long lost. When Samir Mikhail was a child, he was an Egyptian who watched a movie that introduced him to the state of New Jersey. When Samir Mikhail died, he was an American who lived the majority of his life, proudly, in the Garden State. He not only made it to that mystical place he discovered as a young boy. Samir Mikhail made the mystical place his very home. He lived out almost every essential moment of his life there. He died in a hospital there. And it is where he is buried, alongside the love of his life, for the remainder of time. Samir Mikhail was 83 years old. Funeral arrangements are under the care and direction of Ruby Memorial Funeral Home of North Brunswick, N.J. Memories and condolences may be shared at rubymemorialhome.com.