"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day" (1Tim. 4: 7, 8)

Last week, one of founding members of St. Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church, Dr. Michael Abdelmassih Mikhail reposed in the Lord. He passed away to heaven after he finished his good course at the age of 82 years.

He was the eldest of 5 brothers and one sister. As a youth, he grew up in a solid Christian household and helped his dad to support his family.  His siblings are all great servants of the church – his brother is a priest, another is monk, his sister is a nun, and his youngest brother was an iconographer as well as a scholar of the Coptic language who published books, taught, and spoke Coptic fluently with his family.

Dr. Michael excelled in school. He was ranked 1st in his graduating class of medical school and was the valedictorian. He taught in Alexandria University for 10 years and earned a Ph.D. in embryology. He was a very smart pioneer who was focused and determined to succeed. He never was gave up or was afraid to explore.

He came to the USA in 1969 and was forced to restart his medical career. He specialized in Neuroradiology and the Lord blessed him in everything he did. In 1978, he came to Evanston Hospital where he was a pioneer in using the CT scan and MRI. He became a professor of Neuroradiology at Northwestern University and published nearly 300 papers and several chapters in Neuroradiology books. He was well recognized nationally and internationally.

Being a devout Christian, he strived to plant the faith in his family and was instrumental in starting St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in 1985. For almost ten years before the building of the current church, he rented a facility in North Brook for the congregations to pray the weekly Liturgy. He also offered his house for many services of the church like the choir, youth meeting, and making the holy bread (Korban). He took care of many details concerning the church and even designed the beautiful logo of the church that is at the top of this article! He was very generous and supported the church from every aspect. He was a great pillar in St. Mary's Church.

With all his accomplishments, he was always humble, grounded, practical, and desired to live a simple life.

Behind his humorous, sarcastic jokes was a very sensitive, caring, and big-hearted personality.

Ten days before his departure, although he was very sick, he came to the Liturgy, and partook of the Communion before going to the hospital. The day before his departure, Abouna Morcos went to the hospital and gave him the Communion again. Then he passed away peacefully.

May God repose his pure soul in the paradise of joy and fill the hearts of all the members of the dear family with the heavenly peace.