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Obituary for Emile Y. Qirreh
Emile was born on January 21st, 1930 in Nablus, Palestine. He grew up in Jerusalem, a city that has always been dear to his heart. He always had an insatiable appetite for learning; his nickname in youth was Encylopedia Emilica. While his first language was Arabic, he taught himself Spanish, Italian, English, French, Greek, Hebrew and loved learning more. He earned a BA in History from Oxford University in Jerusalem. After he finished his education, he held a number of positions, including serving in the Jordanian Army, volunteering around Jerusalem and being a correspondent for NBC and CBS simultaneously. One particular event he spoke about was when he helped to rescue people and to recover bodies after the bombing of the King David Hotel.
Emile had many careers in his lifetime, ranging from office management to business owner. He was working at the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem where he met his future wife, Huda, who herself was Head Nurse in the Pediatrics Department. When he arrived in the United States, Emile and his family settled in Daly City in 1968. In his adopted country, he had many careers as well. To support his family when he first arrived in the US, he was proud to have become the only Vegetarian butcher in San Francisco. He later went on to own a number of businesses in the city. He retired in 1987 when he moved to Vacaville to help raise four of his grandchildren.
He lived his life to the fullest by traveling the world and sharing it with his family. As a young man, he drove from Jerusalem to Paris and back again where he had many adventures along the way. He shared his wanderlust with his children and grandchildren, taking them all over the world. All who met Emile found him to be charming, witty and fun to be around. They were impressed by his voluminous knowledge of history, languages and literature. Emile was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He is survived by two daughters, Rana and Hadil, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and another one on the way. Emile passed peacefully in his Vacaville home on January 15th 2020. He was almost 90 years old.