Selina Chowdhury

Selina Chowdhury, beloved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend and an active and devoted resident of Longmont, CO, for 28 years, passed away in her home on May 5, 2026 at the age of 69 after a short battle with cancer.

Selina is survived by her husband of 41 years, Zahid Chowdhury; her daughter, Parsa Sanjana (Joseph Schatz); her granddaughter Leila; her sisters Tahmina Mannan (Zakaria Mannan), Sultana Hussain and Marina Ahmad, her brothers Faqueer Salahuddin, Faqueer Saaduudin Ahmad (Farzana Ahmad) and Sami Ahmad (Yelena Aronova) and their children, and scores of nieces, nephews and cousins in the United States, Bangladesh, Canada, Europe, and beyond.

Born in 1956 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Selina was the second of seven children born to her mother, Ayesha Akhtar, and her father, Faqueer Shahabuddin Ahmad. Her father was a leader in the Bangladeshi independence effort and part of the committee that wrote the nation's constitution.

Her remarkable sense of responsibility was evident from an early age. Her first role was as a bookkeeper for her parents—her father, who became the first Attorney General of Bangladesh in 1972, and her mother, a devoted community worker. Their home was a gateway to the world, with people from all walks of life gathering at their doorstep, each treated with dignity and respect.

After graduating from school, Selina married, gave birth to Parsa and began working for American Express in Dhaka. Selina immigrated to the United States with Parsa in 1982, settling in New York City as part of a growing Bangladeshi community in and around Queens. First living in Elmhurst and then Jackson Heights, Selina worked at LaGuardia Airport while raising Parsa and helping countless family members – and other Bangladeshi immigrants she encountered at the airport – adjust to American life.

Selina’s passion for serving others was reflected wonderfully in one of her many gifts—bringing food to friends and family. Her cooking pot was large, both in size and in spirit, always full for the community she cared so deeply about, sharing warmth and kindness with everyone around her.

In 1998, Selina and Zahid moved across the country to fast-growing Longmont, Colorado and fell in love with their newfound community, acting as a mother figure in the neighborhood around the Golden Ponds Park, including traveling to Ciudad Guzmán – Longmont’s sister city in Mexico – with Zahid and their close neighborhood friends. She worked for the Front Range Community College Library, and she was quick to turn strangers – in New York, Colorado, Mexico or elsewhere -- into lifelong friends.

In her large and sprawling family, Selina served as an anchor and constant source of support, helping to raise, guide, support and nurture family members far and wide, especially the children of her brothers and sisters. She built a close-knit extended family that now spans continents – and will miss her dearly.

For twenty years, she lovingly cared for her mother and aunt in Longmont through recovery from a serious illness, offering unwavering support, patience, and compassion.

Selina remains and will always be a profound source of inspiration. She lived with a rare blend of compassion and simplicity, approaching life with a heart open to others. Though her words were soft and spoke quietly, their impact lingered long after she spoke, carrying strength, certainty, and hope.

Selina’s legacy is one of empathy, strength, and unwavering hope—a quiet force that continues to inspire all who were fortunate enough to know her.