Farid Youssef Megalli

Farid was born on December 22, 1929, in Cairo, Egypt, as the youngest of three children. His early years were filled with adventures, from swimming in the Heliopolis Sporting Club with the King of Egypt to scaling the Great Pyramids of Giza. He heard the guns of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 as he journeyed by ocean liner with his mother from Alexandria to London. He lived in close proximity to some of the major battles in North Africa during WW2 and then travelled extensively with his parents throughout the Middle East, completing his final year of high school in Baghdad.

Returning to Egypt, he completed an engineering degree from the University of Cairo and went to work for Shell International. He would go on to dedicate his career to his work as an engineer in the oil and gas industry, interrupted only briefly by his military service as a Major in the Corps of Army Engineers during the Suez Crisis of 1956.

The cornerstone of his life was his marriage to Mary Saad in 1957, resulting in a devoted partnership that spanned 59 years. In 1967, they embarked on a new adventure, emigrating to Canada with their two children, Jailan and Ashraf, settling in Vancouver. The family loved their adopted country, and Farid was never happier than during the years spent with Mary in West Vancouver, close to the mountains and the sea.

Although his heart was broken by the loss of his wife in 2016, he assumed the role of caretaker for his family, learning to cook Mary’s recipes and finding a few of his own to entertain friends and family. He took great pride in his independence, but nothing brought him greater joy than the presence and happiness of his children and grandchildren. Farid lived a full and rewarding life but also endured devastating loss with the passing of his beloved daughter Jailan in 2021.

He was pre-deceased by his wife Mary, brother Alec, sister Margaret, and daughter Jailan. He will be deeply missed by the family he leaves behind, including his son Ashraf, daughter-in-law Sally, son-in-law Steve, and his grandchildren Michael, Alex, Laurel, and Danielle, and their partners. Farid will always be remembered as an intelligent, quiet, thoughtful man with an unwavering love for his family.