Skip to main content
facts & arguments

Samir Zalzal

Visionary. Mentor. Husband. Father. Born Sept. 28, 1932, in Alexandria, Egypt; died Jan. 7, 2017, in Toronto, of complications due to stroke; aged 84.

"The closest thing to paradise on Earth." That's how Dad would describe the Alexandria, Egypt, of the 1950s. He was studying mechanical engineering at the university. Not the most focused of students, Dad was easily distracted by his love of a good time. Later in life, he would regale his family with stories of his glory days as a young man; diving for sea urchins in the Mediterranean, driving his MG convertible around town, and catching the latest American film at the outdoor movie theatre. A pretty airline worker named Rosette Farah appeared often in these stories.

Dad graduated as an engineer in 1955 and his first job was clearing mines in the desert for the American Egyptian Oil Company. Little did he know that things were about to get a lot more perilous.

When my father returned from the desert in 1956, the Nasser regime was in the process of socializing the country. Dad found the secret police waiting for him and, without choice, he was drafted into the Egyptian government and put to work in the Ministry of Agrarian Reform. Dad went about his work dutifully and despite many attempts to resign, the government refused to let him go.

Despite the fear and intimidation at work and in his country, Samir found happiness in his marriage in 1958 to Rosette. Ten years and two daughters later, it became clear to him, however, that his life needed to change even if the only way out was fraught with potentially dire consequences.

In late 1966, leaving everything behind, Samir, Rosette, Nayla, 6, and Hana, 2, secretly boarded a ship headed to Beirut en route to their ultimate destination: Canada. Dad would tell us how he looked back just once to see Alexandria's lighthouse disappearing in the distance.

My father settled his family in Montreal. He welcomed his new life, the new climate and took a fast liking to the Habs, who were in their heyday at the time. He also welcomed a new son, Paul, into the family; and would often joke thereafter that if one wanted to conceive a son, one should make love in the cold.

Dad found work as a salesman in a large multinational company selling heavy equipment and machinery. His talents were quickly recognized, and he was promoted and transferred to Toronto in 1969. He bought a home in a Toronto suburb, put in a swimming pool and lived with great contentment. No one will call Scarborough "the closest thing to paradise on Earth" – not even Samir – but under his nurturing roof, it was as close to an idyllic life as can be imagined for his family.

By the time Dad retired in 2000, he had become president and CEO of the company he had started with. In addition, he was a founding member of the Canada-Arab Business Council and had led countless trade missions to the Middle East for the betterment of many Canadian businesses.

Dad travelled back to Egypt often as part of the business council – proudly wearing a Maple Leaf pin – but he never looked back. There was perhaps no prouder a Canadian than my father.

Hana Zalzal is Samir Zalzal's daughter.

To submit a Lives Lived: lives@globeandmail.com

Lives Lived celebrates the everyday, extraordinary, unheralded lives of Canadians who have recently passed. To learn how to share the story of a family member or friend, go online to tgam.ca/livesguide.

Interact with The Globe