Tamer N. Husseini

Tamer N. Husseini was born in Homs, Syria on March 23, 1943. He was the second of five children born to Nouhad Husseini and Qamar Atassi. He passed away at the age of 82 in Stamford CT from a sudden stroke. He was surrounded by his wife of 56 years, his 3 children and their spouses, and his youngest brother.

Tamer was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather, and a source of joy and inspiration to all who knew him. He left home at the age of 7 to spend his formative years at Brummana School in Beirut, Lebanon, and then moved to the United States to attend the University of Texas at Austin in August 1962 at the age of 19. Tamer graduated in 1966 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering where he became an avid Texas Longhorns fan for life – anyone who knew him was familiar with his spontaneous exclamations of “Hook ‘em Horns!”

He took his first job in Dallas at Texas Power & Light and soon met Teri Ann Robinson, a flight attendant for American Airlines from Louisville, KY, at the Richilieu apartments where they both lived. They were married on February 1, 1969 in Louisville, and following Tamer’s role at Texas Instruments in Dallas, they moved to San Mateo, CA in 1972 where he would spend his career as an engineer and entrepreneur in the Silicon Valley. After working for Grainger and Avantek, Tamer founded Celeritek in 1984 where he served as CEO and Chairman of the Board until he retired in 2005. He was very proud of the company he built and held a deep affection for everyone who worked there. He also loved living in Los Altos where he and Teri raised their family and welcomed countless neighbors and friends to their home of over 40 years before moving to the east coast to be closer to kids and grandkids at the end of 2019.

Tamer was known for his jovial disposition and optimistic outlook. He claimed to be a lucky man all his life. Once a regular tennis player himself, in his later years he watched the sport religiously. He made a final trip to Wimbledon last year, and was gearing up to go back to the French Open later this month. He loved history and was sure to teach his children and grandchildren about their roots, and was known to read multiple books per week. He regularly cooked his favorite Syrian recipes and loved nothing more than sharing a meal with his family. Tamer made a lasting impact on everyone he met, earning both respect and admiration for his loyalty, integrity, warmth and tough love. Most of all, he was simply the best baba, and jiddo to the greatest joys of his life – his six grandchildren.

He is survived by wife Teri of Stamford CT, son Nouhad (Katherine) of Harrison, NY, daughter Rana (Benoît) of Port Chester, NY, daughter Najla (George) of Stamford CT, and grandchildren Nora and Tamer Husseini, Jacques and Theodore Ollier, and William and Anna Matthews. He is also survived by his four siblings, many cousins, nieces, nephews and extended family who loved and revered him, and will continue to carry his memory forward.

A private burial service was held on May 2 at the Hillside Cemetery in Wilton, CT. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in his honor to the Middle East Children’s Alliance supporting Palestinian and Syrian refugee children supporting Palestinian and Syrian refugee children. https://www.mecaforpeace.org/donate/