Habib Iskander

Habib Iskander passed away on March 30, 2022, at 9:30 PM in Corona, CA. His beloved Ruth was beside him. He was loved and respected, will be mourned, and is now in a place without pain or suffering. He died of heart failure and complications from Parkinson’s Disease.


Habib’s life was lived globally, including North Africa, the Middle East, Southern Europe and the United States. He was born in Khartoum, Sudan, on December 22, 1929, to Egyptian parents, the fourth of eleven children, seven of whom lived to adulthood. His father, Iskander Armanious, worked in Sudan for the joint Anglo-Egyptian government there. Iskander retired around 1935 and returned to his home of Asyut, in Upper Egypt, where he lived the rest of his life. Habib’s mother Teresa Ghubrial survived Iskander, passing away in 1980, much loved, and famous for her thrift and baking skills

Habib studied at Assiut College, a Presbyterian high school, and upon graduation, attended medical school in Alexandria. He served his residency back in Asyut, where he was invited to come to volunteer at the Lilian Trasher Orphanage, first to lead the children in songs, and then as doctor, which role led to his marriage! Lilian Trasher’s sister, Tante Jenny, lived in the orphanage also. She increasingly relied on the new volunteer doctor, Habib. Soon, she started calling him in to her rooms, and then would ask for Ruth, living and working there in the orphanage as a single missionary, to be sent for. Predictably enough, she would bring the topic of conversation around to marriage, much to the embarrassment of the two. Matchmakers take heart: it worked! Married on December 14, 1961, Habib and Ruth began their 60 years of married life, having three children, and thus far 7 grandchildren and one great grand child.



In 1966, the couple and their two daughters, Margaret (b. 1964) and Betsy (b. 1965), went in the US. In Philadelphia, Habib studied and did residence rounds with Dr. Everett Koop, at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, and worked at the Di Bruno root beer factory. Habib and Ruth returned to Egypt in 1967, and then in 1968 made the move to Amman, Jordan, which shaped the biggest part of their lives.


In Amman, Habib opened a clinic, which he would maintain until leaving in 1985, serving all who entered, charging a nominal fee or sometimes no fee at all. Until now, he is often thought of in Jordan as, ‘the doctor.’ In 1969, their first boy and last child was born. When the civil war there broke out, the entire family evacuated to safe Beirut, carrying red crosses stitched into diapers, with Ruth and the children remaining there a few months. Habib returned back to his clinic and young church. People still recall that he would bring them groceries, or tend to the sick and wounded, even as the bullets flew. He recalled later hearing the bullets whizzing by, but the need for a doctor never stops. With a few exceptions, Habib and his family remained very happily in Jordan until 1985. Habib split his time between the clinic and the Jabal Weibdeh church.

Between 1978 and 1980, Habib and his family moved to Khartoum, Sudan, a city he had not seen since his early childhood, but a very happy place for him and his family. There he worked at a Swiss-run clinic in Omdurman.


By 1987, their three children were out of the home. Margaret was married to Andrawis Abughazaleh and was living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Betsy was finishing up her undergraduate degree in Northern California, and John joined them for college. Habib and Ruth began a more than 20 year period of living on both sides of the Mediterranean. Habib was initially resistant to studying other Arabic dialects—being after all an Arab!—but after Ruth came home from her dialect classes asking him ‘Zama Mungeiltak S-HiHa?’ he realized quickly that he’d have to learn the dialects, which he did in Tunis and later in Morocco. Habib began to acquire his collection of North African expressions with which to regale his Middle Eastern friends and family. 'Zama moungeiltak S-HiHa' remained a favorite long after. Yes, we think our watches are correct, we’d say after he told us what that meant! His clinic in Tunis never got approved, so Habib and Ruth moved to Spain and, then lastly to Rabat, Morocco, where they remained for almost 10 years.

Habib and Ruth retired in 2002, and moved to the Portland, OR region to be near Betsy and her family. Betsy had married Mazen al-Batarseh in 1993, and by this time they were in Portland. That caravan moved regularly, alighting ultimately in Corona, CA, with a few detours along the way, most of which Habib and Ruth went along for. It was in Corona, near Betsy, with his beloved and loving Ruth at his side, that Habib passed away.

Wife Ruth Iskander, daughter Margaret Abu-Ghazaleh, daughter Betsy Batarseh, and son John Iskander all survive Habib.


Habib loved living in the different countries he lived in, Egypt of course, Jordan, Sudan, Tunisia, Spain, Morocco, the USA. Each of them was home, however temporary. Much loved and missed in each of those places, Habib learned Arabic dialects, learned to love mansaf and couscous, and made friends with all manner of shop owners with whom he would bargain fiercely and with great humor, much to their delight.

Habib worked as a doctor, and this was a huge part of his career and identity. He was also an ordained minister, supporting and fostering vibrant church communities wherever they lived. The impact of this work has been and remains deeply felt and appreciated, as testified by the outpouring of love and sorrow at the news of Habib’s passing.



The grandchildren all remember ‘Jiddo’ coming in to wake them up by pulling their toes. Nobody loved children or was more dedicated to them than Habib. One of the gifts of his long life was that at his passing, the grandchildren had all grown to young adulthood, and had been able to form real memories and relationships with their Jiddo and Tati.



Habib lived a life that was full of movement and change, but certain constants guided him. He was always proud of his Egyptian heritage, his acquired Jordanian family, his naturalized life and citizenship in the US, and he wore these different identities without contradiction. He left Egypt, but always returned to be with family as much as he could. His medical practice was an extension of his focus on people, and was a way for him to share with and provide for those in need, rather than being a source of wealth. He was loyal to his family, and that loyalty was and will forever be repaid in love.