By Chris Rahi Kassab

With his adoring family by his side, Dr. Daher Boutros Rahi of Grosse Pointe Shores died January 31 at the age of 92.

Dad was born in a village in Lebanon called Hemlaya. He lived there with his parents, Boutros and Chafika, and his sister, Emily.  To say that the family was poor is an understatement. They lived in a tiny concrete structure propped on the side of a mountain. Despite his upbringing – or perhaps because of it – Dad excelled at everything he put his mind to do.  His father pushed him hard at school and as a member of the church, and he rose to every challenge.

At the age of 18, Dad’s parents sent him to the U.S. for the promise of a better life. When he arrived in Detroit, his uncle met him at the airport and asked how many bags he had. Dad was confused by the question because all he had were the clothes on his back and a quarter in his pocket.

Dad couldn’t speak English, but he was determined to learn. He took odd jobs to earn some money, and he went to school at the University of Detroit with a dream of becoming a doctor. He worked hard and studied even harder. He told us how he was bullied at school – often by his fellow students and sometimes by his teachers – because he was a “foreigner” and couldn’t speak the language. Despite those challenges and so many more, he graduated from U of D and was accepted to medical school at the College of Osteopathic Medicine in Des Moines, Iowa.

Even during those early days, Dad’s leadership abilities were emerging in a profound way. He led the foreign physicians at medical school, often speaking at events on their behalf. Anyone who knows Dad knows that he was a gifted orator, whether speaking Arabic or English. His charisma could mesmerize any crowd. At one point during his medical school tenure, he addressed the student body at an event with the governor of Iowa in attendance. Everyone was so enamored by the intelligence, passion and power of his remarks that they asked for his speech to be reprinted in the local paper.

After graduating from medical school with honors, Dad met and married his beautiful wife, Jeanette, and opened a small office in St. Clair Shores where he practiced family medicine. He quickly amassed a loyal following of patients. Dad’s door was always open to everyone, and if they were sick and couldn’t afford to pay the nominal fee for an office visit, Dad would tell them not to worry about it – just focus on getting well. He would make house calls at all hours of the day and night.

His patients loved him, not just because he took care of them but because he was always there to listen. Some would come just to share their problems, and Dad would always listen patiently and offer advice.

As he became established with his practice, Dad took on an active role in the community. Throughout the years, he held roles too countless to list. He served as a member and later president of the South Lake Board of Education. He was elected a councilman in St. Clair Shores and later served as mayor pro-tem. He served as deputy medical examiner for Macomb County; president of the Macomb Society of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons and president of the Michigan Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons. In 1979, he was appointed to the Michigan Health Occupations Council and later director of the Michigan Statewide Professional Standard Review Council, Michigan Department of Human Services.

Dad was honored with numerous citations from every level of government recognizing him for his outstanding work as a doctor and a civic leader. And in 1982, President Reagan appointed him to the President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research.

Of all the community roles Dad held, the one he held most dear to his heart was the role he played in the Lebanese community and St. Maron’s Church in Detroit. As an immigrant himself, he used his knowledge and experience to help hundreds of other Lebanese people come to this country and attain their citizenship. People coming from Lebanon used to say, “If you didn’t know Dr. Rahi, you didn’t know anybody.” Dad also represented the Lebanese community at home and abroad. He was elected twice as president of the World Lebanese Cultural Union. And he was the 2012 “Tribute to Health” recipient of the Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce’s Michael DeBakey Physician of the Century Award.

Dad loved the Lebanese people, and he loved St. Maron’s Church. He provided unwavering support to every member of the clergy that graced the altar over the years. And he was a pillar of the church in every way humanly possible – spiritually, altruistically and philanthropically. He was recognized as a member of the Order of St. Sharbel, and one of the greatest honors of his life was when the pope bestowed upon him the Order of St. Gregory Award for his distinguished service and dedication to the church and community.

In his final years, Dad’s faith in God and the church remained as strong as ever. He listened to the mass numerous times a day. In fact, we teased that he could have been a priest because he knew every word of the liturgy by heart. And oh how our hearts danced when he would sing the hymns! When our beloved Fr. Roby Zibara, pastor of St. Maron’s Church, visited Dad – as he did so often – Fr. Roby would greet him in Arabic. Regardless of how difficult a day it was, Dad’s eyes would light up and he would respond in their native tongue. Fr. Roby has been a loving, guiding angel to our family – coming to the hospital twice a day to see Dad in his final days – and we will never be able to truly express our love and gratitude to him.

But what distinguished Dad the most and made him so very special throughout his life was his love and dedication to his family. He devoted his entire life to his wife, children and grandchildren. Dad’s greatest joy was seeing everyone happy, and he would move mountains to make that happen. There wasn’t a problem he couldn’t solve, an issue he couldn’t address or a feeling that you couldn’t share with him. His love was unconditional, and it knew no bounds.

In the many speeches he gave throughout his life, Dad would often quote the Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran, who once said, “Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” To our most beloved husband, father and grandfather:  We may be separated now in the physical sense, but our love for you is and always will be wider than the sky and deeper than the ocean.  You will live in our hearts forever.

Dr. Daher Rahi is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Jeanette;  his adoring children, Dr. Raymond Rahi (Sharon), Chris Rahi Kassab (Elias) and Diana Leone (Andy) and his devoted grandchildren, Michael, Ashley, Nicholas, John, Elisabeth, Francesca and Alexandra.  He was predeceased by his beautiful sister, Emily Hakim and is survived by many nieces and nephews.

A funeral mass was held on Feb. 4 at St. Maron’s Catholic Church in Detroit.

In lieu of flowers, it is the wish of the family that memorial contributions be made in the name of Dr. Daher B. Rahi to St. Maron’s Church, 11466 Kercheval, Detroit, Michigan 48214.