Zoubir {“zoo-bear”} Boukhlif, aged 61, passed away, suddenly and peacefully at the home. Born in Constantine, and losing his mother at age 6 left a sort of lasting sadness about him; but also courage. He was a boy, but had a clear memory of the time of the Algerian war and independence from France on July 5th, 1962. He, like many Algerians of his generation, were idealists in terms of “Nation Building.” However, the political corruption that soon followed disillusioned him. When he received a scholarship to obtain a Master’s Degree in America, he readily accepted.
He found many life-long friends while studying Linguistics at U of H. He was gifted, linguistically, and often corrected his native-English-speaking wife’s spelling and word usage. He always said that learning a second language was an advantage because you
had to pay particular attention to the details and subtitles. His career consisted of coordinating, translating and communicating with people across countries and cultures. He was very diplomatic, empathetic & efficient in helping others, who’d found themselves in crises, while traveling internationally. Zoubir carefully and compassionately followed each case until they were safely home.
Zoubir had many other passions, such as painting, drawing, reading and listening to his many favorite musicians (all poetic, such as himself); Leonard Cohen being at the top of the list, followed by Bob Dylan, Harry Chapin, and Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens).
He was interested in everything and never stopped growing and learning. He was the most knowledgeable person of current international events, as he watched, daily, many perspectives of events and read several newspapers from other countries.
Zoubir is survived by his wife of 27 (almost 28) years, Rebecca, and their daughter, Anisa Rose, aged 26. He is also survived by his sisters (who live in Algeria): Nadia, Fatiha, Anisa, Hafiza, Fuzia and many nieces and nephews.
Zoubir was greatly loved, by all who knew him; his instant wit, dry humor, ability to have fun and put everyone at ease. He was an artist at heart who felt the pain of others more than his own. He understood others without expecting to be understood by them. He kept his pains to himself but shared his joys with everyone. He tried to get to the heart of this life without bothering about its futilities.
He will be sorely missed. On the other hand, he is finally free of the heart-disease that plagued him for 15 years. Rest in eternal peace, our love.
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