From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Mon Nov 23 2009 - 13:01:11 EST
http://www.calgaryherald.com/Calgary+family+prepares+farewell+exceptional/2255567/story.html
Calgary
family prepares for farewell to 'exceptional'man
*By Jamie Komarnicki, Calgary Herald*November 23, 2009 7:01 AMB
Yousif Ahmed hoped to take a rare day off today to celebrate his wife's 30th
birthday.
Instead, Ahmed's loved ones are planning his funeral as they say goodbye to
the "one of a kind" man with a big heart and a warm smile.
Ahmeddied along with his close friend, EmanuelKifle, in a garage fire
Friday.
On Sunday, Ahmed's wife, Liela, brought flowers to the Marlborough home
where her husband died. Despite the loss, she said she also felt a sense of
peace.
"I felt he was still there . . . staring back at me," Liela Ahmed said
Sunday at her southeast Calgary home.
Her husband came to Calgary from Sudan as a refugee about eight years ago,
said Liela, who arrived in Canada from the Philippines four years ago.
He was training to be a mechanic and often volunteered to work on friends'
cars.
In January, the couple celebrated two momentous occasions: citizenship and
marriage.
Their daughter, Fatma, was born five months ago, and Ahmed could hardly
contain his joy.
The 30-year-old mechanic was a proud father to Fatma and Liela's son,
Francis, 10.
"He was so excited," his wife said.
Family and friends gathered on the weekend to share their grief and exchange
memories of Ahmed's life.
"He was an exceptional person," said Ahmed Egail, Ahmed's cousin.
"Everything you ask him, he says 'Yes.' "
Ahmed worked hard to provide for his young family and had dreams of one day
opening his own mechanic shop, Liela said.
Investigators haven't determined how the fire was started but say it's not
suspicious in nature. Ahmed's family said he was working on a van with Kifle
in the garage, and believe that may have had something to do with the fire.
One of Liela's brothers lives in Calgary, but the rest of her family is back
home in the Philippines. But she said she's found comfort among her
husband's relatives, just as he would have wanted.
"He told me, 'One day, if I'm gone, my people will take care of you and the
kids.'And they're here," she said, gesturing to the room full of family and
friends in her home.
The family hopes to bury Ahmed in a traditional Muslim funeral today, but is
waiting for information from the medical examiner's office.
Kifle's family members, too, have turned their minds to the task of
arranging a funeral.
His loved ones expect he will be buried in his native Eritrea, although a
ceremony will likely be held in Calgary, said Kifle's cousin, Azmera Mamo.
jkomarnicki@theherald.canwest.com
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