Dr. Farouck Obeid, a well-known surgeon, author and professor, died March 7 after a yearlong battle with cancer.

He was 58.

Obeid was known as an energetic community leader and someone who went to great lengths to help medical students and others.

A past president of the American Syrian Arab Cultural Association, those who knew him described him as an immensely successful surgeon who “never forgot where he came from.”

“He was quite a leader,” said Warren David, a friend of Obeid’s.

“Anybody who met him new that he was a very intense person and had a passion for Arab culture.”

David said Obeid’s home in Troy was a center of activity, where Arab Americans got together for cultural gatherings and community organizing.

“He gave a lot of his time. His house in Troy was a known stopping point.”

He said Obeid could often be seen writing and reciting poetry.

“He was into the arts as well as being a very, very, very incredible doctor… We lost an icon.”

Obeid was a senior staff surgeon at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit before becoming a director of trauma and bariatric surgery at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, where he was named physician of the year in 2002.

Obeid was born in Syria and graduated from the Damascus University School of Medicine in 1972. He worked at the DePaul Hospital in Norfolk, Va., before coming to Michigan.

Well-known diplomat Clovis Maksoud, a former ambassador of the League of Arab States to the United Nations, said in an email responding to news of Obeid’s death that he was immensely saddened by the loss.

“I have known his commitment to service for the community at large, his deep attachment to his homeland as well as his country of citizenship. I remember his kind hospitality and the generosity of his spirit, the goodness of his heart and the brilliance of his mind. To those who were lucky to be graced with his friendship, they knew in him a dedication to help and a personage of dignity and a wonderful conversationalist.

I know how much he will be missed by all those who were the recipients of his generosity and his healing role both professionally and as a leader.”

Obeid leaves his wife, Gloria, and four children, Nadia, Nabeel, Leila and Nicholas.