In many ways Rami was an inspiration, be it his great charisma that balanced his young heart and avid leadership, his love for life, his drive for success, leave alone the large heart he had for family….
Loosing Rami is very hard, as much as we loved him, God love him more, may his soul rest in peace and may God bestow all his loved ones with patience…
Rami will not be forgotten!
Rami M. Zeidan
Rami was the first son we had in my generation, l remember holding him when he was born and have watched him grow into a young determined man. I was not only his uncle but a second father to him. His short life was full of achievements. He will be greatly missed by myself and my family.
There are no words that can be put together to form a tribute for a man like Rami. He was, is and will always be the source of inspiration to all those who have known him.
I would like to end with a saying of Hazrat Ali (A.S) which reflects the personality of Rami very well, “Treat people in such a way and live amongst them in such a manner that if you die they weep over you and if you live they crave for your company”.
I pray for Rami’s departed soul. May God rest his soul in eternal peace.
My heart skipped a beat when I heard the awful news. I wanted some time to pass before sending you my thoughts about someone who I will never forget.
Even though his life was short, he accomplished plenty and touched so many people in so many ways. It is almost ironic that he left us so young.
I will never forget our childhood together, his endless generosity and his unique sense of care. He was a very special part of my life growing up in London and all of us, his real friends, feel a sense of loss that is hard to explain.
Even though we spoke less frequently after I moved to New York, I always knew that I could call him at anytime and he would embrace me with the same affection he did when we were growing up. Life will never be the same, time does heal.
I find it amazing to think that Rami was born during my second year at University. He was born to two wonderful people; Fouad and May Makhzoumi. His parents provided limitless opportunities and created no boundaries for Rami during his childhood. Rami’s father instilled an innate desire within him to succeed and fulfil his dreams. Rami’s father, Fouad Makhzoumi, taught him to respect other people and to admire others. Fouad Makhzoumi defined the ‘family’ as not solely the immediate, but also the ‘greater’ family, which encompassed all who were close to the family as well. Rami is sadly missed.
I used to work for Mr. Rami at the US plant in Mississippi and we were lucky to meet him when he came for a visit. He was a very genuine and caring person and was so intelligent. I will keep the family in my thoughts and prayers. He will be missed dearly.
It was with great shock, sadness and deep sorrow that I received the tragic news of Rami’s passing. It was, without a doubt, a great pleasure and an honour for me to have known him for 20 years.
The ‘World’ will definitely not be a better place for having lost him but will have been positively enriched by having had had him here. He will be sorely missed.
My deepest and sincerest sympathies remain eternally with his family. May You Rest in Peace Rami
Dear Fouad and May,
I have been thinking much about Rami, your distinguished son. May he rest in peace and may his memory be for a blessing. With condolences, I would like to offer words.
As was evident upon first meeting him, Rami was educated well in the arts, literature and culture, as well as in business through his post graduate degree, which I suspect was awarded with distinction. Rami absorbed his education, making him worldly and insightful.
His strong family background added to his foundation for powerful vision. As you know, my association with Rami was principally regarding business. There I saw his vast abilities to take in the complex structure and commercial aspects of a large, multifaceted business organization, and see its operations from different perspectives. I saw insightful capabilities to comprehend the challenges of persuading people to accept new ways of seeing and doing things. I heard a sensitive voice from a perceptive man urge people to do more and be more, first with “evolution” and then with “revolution.” And I saw a powerful drive to add to his father and mother’s vast accomplishments while also striking out to define his own accomplishments, in new lines of business, new approaches to charitable and cultural endeavors, and by participating in global organizations devoted to young business presidents and Arab leadership.
Yet, while Rami’s business achievements and leadership capacities in business and international relations are vast (after all, he is his father’s son), my strongest impressions of Rami arise from other characteristics. I remember and admire him:
– For the reasonableness he brought to business relationships, recognizing that commerce often prospers best in an environment of mutual respect;
– For the fairness he brought to employment relationships, recognizing that people do their best when treated respectfully (Rami spoke to employees as colleagues);
– For his openness in obtaining assistance from wise and experienced thought leaders about how to motivate and derive the best from the people around him;
– For his ability to develop friendships even among people who worked for him, while advancing his duties to the business;
– For his ability to complement his father’s skills and attributes, adding yet more strength to the Makhzoumi family’s vast capabilities and scope;
– For his strong commitments to family, name, history, and his people;
– For his strong commitment to faith and observance, for his recognition that his example would influence many others, and for his challenge to others to be ever more committed to faith;
– For the sheer pleasure of dining and shopping in New York with a young man, enjoying his fine sense of humor and joie de vivre. Rami knew how to enjoy what there was to enjoy. Indeed Rami is with us. His light will continue to shine, illuminating much for us.
Sincerely yours, Arnold B. Podgorsky
Life is a betrayal when this sad time falls upon us, but we need to remember the happy days, the smiles and joy that Rami once brought into our world and remember him for his generosity, life, love and affection and above be all look to him through his 3 children. I for once, had great admiration and respect to him for I saw his the greatness of his brilliant father seeps through him and I knew I see Foaud’s greatness in him and looked to him to aspire the young generation of our time. Sadly, life once again steels a great man from the bosoms of our life. Rami he leaves behind a sad dark and gloomy day missed by thousands of people, friends and family. With sincere deep commiseration and warm affection to his parents Fouad and May, and sisters Tamara and Camellia.
I’d like the memory of Rami to be a happy one.
I’d like him to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done.
I’d like him to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times, laughing moments, warm bright sunny days.
I’d like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun;
Of happy memories that Rami leave when life is done.
He was our son, loved, honoured and tears will soon go dry;
Most treasured; that is how he wants us to remember him by.
He is gone in body, for no more the face that once we adorn
Grateful for the memory, the smile and joy that he was born
He is asleep into the hands of angels to heavens their flight
In our heart and dark day he’ll be the shinning beautiful light.
In memory of our beloved and much treasured Rami.
Where would I start? Rami my baby or Rami my young child? Rami my teenager or Rami my young man?
He left me with abundance of memories in every stage of his life… Rami was born in Riyadh Saudi Arabia, he opened his eyes and was surrounded by loving family members who were excited about his arrival… There a budding friendship started with Karim Farra, my cousin and kept nourishing till he parted. He was such a lovely happy baby, gurgling like a canary, I still have his recording!!! I even said if I have 40 babies like him I would not mind. I enjoyed his company and talked with him all the time, my mum used to ask me what do you say to him? He is listening to you, but does he pick up??? Frankly I don’t know, but he always looked at me with interest, holding my hand —- Whatever it was we bonded strongly and this bond grew stronger with time, we were very close , he grew up to be my best friend, he grew wiser with years , experience and education refined his views…his judgment with family issues was always sought after.
When we moved to London he was only 3 years old… joined Hill House International School, where his personality was molded, mixing with people from many nationalities, learning music, joining the choir, sports teams and travelling to Switzerland to study and have a feel of boarding life with his classmates…there he grew up to respect people from different faiths and learned about all religions.. Most important thing about Hill House is the friendships that started there and grew with him. His best man and closest friend Saif Alwan and later work colleague, Mustapha Al Rawi and many others that I don’t want to miss any… at 12-13 years many parted ways to different schools, Rami and 12 others went to Dulwich, Saif ,Mustapha and others went to St Paul’s… but their friendship was not affected but it grew stronger… I have endless stories, of the boys staying over in London, their first day camps, first sports day, first X-mass choir and most fun their first Ball, where they all got their suits and were well groomed ready for the adventure… Many weekend at the country house in Kent. Spaghetti, Tacos, fish fingers, hamburgers, were some of their favorites. Swimming, playing basket ball, tennis, football, riding bikes it was an enjoyment to watch them and spend time with the gang… When they became teenagers, they started going alone not wanting adult supervision, cooking for themselves and leaving the kitchen a bombshell of tomato sauce everywhere…!!! Rami’s birthdays were fun, as it was Halloween and the themes were quiet challenging every year but who will forget his 21st birthday when he had the Scottish kilt!! …. Well the boys grew up, but I still saw them, for Rami they were his brothers, and he was generous with his time, games and clothes, the boys will know!!!
So many adventures in those teen years, and Rami wanted to discover everything, he was not very happy with me being strict or trying to monitor him, there were times of course school did not mean much, but he sailed through and got his A levels and went to Buckingham University and got his BA with honor in two years…
At his 18th birthday he wrote me a note to thank me for bringing him up and looking after him in the way I did, though at times he thought that I & his dad are trying to be very domineering, but now he realized it was to his benefit and he was grateful that we are his parent.
He left Buckingham a mature man, though he decided to go wild before starting work, as he told me (mum I will not be able to do any crazy stuff once I start work), so he came home having a zebra design hairstyle!!! I am sure the boys remember the leopard style too!!
Time was due for Rami to leave to Dubai to start working… I missed him terribly, but at that time, internet and web cam were out, so we could communicate, see each other and he would show me his office and what changes he did in the house… He wanted to indulge in all aspect related to the pipe business from factory upward… First thing he did when he got his first salary was buy me a gold necklace with Allah carved with diamante and same but smaller size for his sisters… He thought of us, that meant a lot… work took him away from us, but we kept in touch… and he found a refuge in religion, he began to learn more about Islam, go to the mosque, fast Ramadan and became a different man, he was still cracking jokes and enjoying life, but was committed to his rituals… I was blessed that he asked permission from his father to take me to Hajj in 2000. It was such a great experience, at the time he told me “we are going to go in a normal group, we need to be down to earth and struggle in Hajj as we will have more Ajer”,… and we did… it was such a lovely experience, to be with him in Makah, to be with him in Arafah repenting for all past deeds, to be with him in Madinah visiting the prophet’s resting place, I could not have asked for more… I cherished every moment and I still do…
Later in 2001 we celebrated our 25th anniversary, and Rami surprised us with a film production about us and he went into the trouble of going to three countries to take interviews with family members and friends… He left us with a beautiful memory and made us cry as we watched.
He married, became a father, and what a great father he was, three girls that were his treasure, he loved them to bits, they were his life, and they meant everything to him. He had dreams for their future, he wanted them to be disciplined, and wanted them to be responsible and proud to be Makhzoumi’… His father few years back, had assigned a historian to write about the origin of the family and its history and the prominent people along the years.. Rami took this to a different level, and he again produced a great documentary which includes history with maps and old films, interviews with family members and he even included the children, history of the FPI and how Fouad started it, and part about the Foundation.
He even requested all our albums, and scanned all pictures we had so we could have a digital recording of them, so a later we can produce a family book… I promise you Rami we will do that!
For every trip his family took; he printed a book with all the photos from that trip, keeping the memories alive… It is somehow as if he knew he was leaving us soon!!!! for he did for us what nobody thought of doing before. He did for his kids a lot, guided them along, got them into the modern technology in all aspects, took them to faraway places , showed them the world, always telling me I want to spend time as much time as I can with them.. I want to have balance in my life, give priorities to my family and give it as much time as I give work …..
He was a special person, everything about him was unique, his taste in clothes, in furniture, in music, in art work, he had a special look at life, enjoy it to the best but live it with faith & respect…. Everybody who met him even once felt something different, people respected him, admired him, simply loved him…family, friends, colleagues, employees he touched their hearts. He was a good man and will be remembered too for his good deeds…
Finally he moved his family to live in Beirut, finally all the family was reunited, us, our daughters and him… Finally the siblings were able to do things together, they all matured and began understanding each other better than any other time… couple of year’s back he told me I regret that I did not spend time with my sisters as they were growing, I was at university, then work, we lived apart, but I want to compensate for that…. well he did this year and was looking forward for days to come to spend it all together. Me too I was looking forward to such times, but Alas he left us too soon. Yes we are all together but he is over looking at us , joining us in everything we do, he is living with every breath , with every tear, with every smile, he is living in our hearts in our mind, he will be present always…..
Love you Rami, will always do…
Rami was a great person who achieved a lot before he was taken from us all too early. He was special in many ways, always making YOU feel special, although it was him in reality who was the one. To many who didn’t know him till his career started off, he will be known as Rami. For me though, he will always be known as my little Kuala – which for the true friends of his will know well. I cherish the memories and experiences we had. RIP my little Kuala, the world is a lesser place without you.
Allah Yerhamo, his sudden loss has left a gap. Rami will be greatly missed. Rami was the one that always made us smile, he was the one giving us good advice. Rami can show us a complex situation look very simple to be solved. Rami showed us that life was so easy. Rami was just simply a Great Individual. May His Soul Rest in Peace.
