Obituary

Age 81. George is the loving husband of Ruth for fifty wonderful years; cherished father of Sumer (Reid) Friedrichs of Birmingham, Tarik (Kelly) Khoury of Huntington Woods, and Karl (Colleen) Khoury of Huntington Woods; devoted grandfather of Torin, Alexandra, Cayde, George, Petra and Zara. George is also survived by his siblings Nabeel Khoury, Laila Khoury, Nadia Khoury, Samira (Spiro) Fasheh, Samir Khoury and Suhail (Janet) Khoury along with many loving extended family and friends. Sadly, George is preceded in death by his sister, the late Suad Batarse (d. 2022).

Born in Jerusalem, Palestine, in 1942 and arriving in the United States in 1961 where he achieved two masters degrees in Engineering & Business. He worked for Chrysler and retired from General Dynamics as a human factors engineer.

He maintained a strong connection to his Palestinian heritage evident in his philanthropical contributions to the Arab community. He is recognized as a founding member of ACCESS (the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services), the Arab Student Union and co-founder of The Holy Land Ecumenical Foundation. He was President & Editor-In-Chief of the periodical Birzeit Society, a leader of the Detroit chapter of USPCN, FOSNA, PCRF, the national non-profit Anti Discrimination Committee and countless other NGO’s supportive of Palestinian rights and a world of tolerance and peace.

On numerous occasions, he was designated Arab-American of the Year. He was recipient of the Khalil-Gibran Spirit of Humanity award, The Gassan Kanafani Resistance award, the Birzeit Society National Achievement Award, American Federation of Ramallah Palestine Volunteer and the Dedicated Service Award, and publication awards for Arabesque Translation Services.

His three children would argue he received the "Father of the Year" award for 48 straight years.

Thank you for keeping the Khoury family in your thoughts and prayers at this sad time.