Maurice Mahli
January 2, 1933 ~ July 31, 2015
Maurice Mahli, 82, of Fargo, North Dakota died July 31, 2015 to the songs of singing grandchildren while in the compassionate care of the Sanford Hospital staff.
Maurice was born January 2, 1933 in Haifa, Palestine to Awad and Rafia Mahli. He married his beloved Ellen Russell on April 23, 1971 in New York City. They made their home in Fargo.
Maurice and Ellen have two children, Dan (Kim) and David (Katie), and six grandchildren, Hana, Cora, Elizabeth, Patrick, Katherine, and Daniel.
Maurice’s good humor, warmth, work ethic, and commitment to serving others made him a joy to be with. He was involved in community life locally and around the world. Maurice saw the face of God in all people and touched many hearts. His love and kindness live in his children, grandchildren, and friends.
Visitation is Thursday, August 6 from 5:00-7:00 pm, followed by a prayer service at 7:00 pm, at Boulger Funeral Home in Fargo. The Funeral will be at Nativity Catholic Church on Friday, August 7 at 11:00 am. Internment will be at St. Joan of Arc Memorial Garden in Minneapolis, MN.
In lieu of flowers, memorials will be appreciated to the Presentation Sisters Foundation or Churches United for the Homeless.
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Dear Mahli Family,
You all are in my thoughts and prayers in the death of Maurice. I remember him as a man committed to his faith and family but also a man with a passion for justice and doing the right thing! May his legacy of love live on in all of you and may he have eternal peace and joy with our loving God. Fr. Tim Bushy
I am so sad to hear of Maurice passing. He was a man of great compassion. Please accept my thoughts and prayers at this sad time for you all. I will miss seeing him at Nativity.
Ellen,
I am very sorry to hear of Maurice’s death. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your children.
I have always appreciated how kind you and Maurice have been to my mother.
Sincerely,
Gary Fischer
Every time I had the fortune to spend even a few minutes with Maurice, I always felt calmer, happier and more content. Thinking of you – his precious family – as you grieve the loss of a spectacular man.
Dear Dan and Family,
My deepest sympathy to all of you. Although I didn’t know Maurice personally, I knew of him as part of the Daily Mass Group at Nativity, of which my father was also a member, and I know he was special to my Dad. Please know that I am thinking of you and praying that God will give you some measure of comfort during these difficult days. Dan, you are such a caring man – sounds like you are just like your Dad in so many ways. What a tribute to both of you.
With sympathy,
Jay Goerger
Our loving condolences to you, Ellen, Dave & Katy, Dan & Kim. What a beautiful photo of Maurice. It captures his smile, his humor, his kindness, his intelligence, his glow, and it will be how we always remember him.
With all my love.
My heart and prayers are with you. What a wonderful legacy…two wonderful committed and community minded sons and a beautiful wife who modeled with him love, dedication, and the gift of joyful living. We should ask be so blessed. Many hugs, Nancy
Dear Dan,
Please accept my deepest sympathy in the passing of your Father. His life of service and love for mankind is reflected in you. How proud he must have been. I will pray for you and your family now and in the days to come.
Your friend,
Dan Danielson
Dear Mahli family
Please know love and prayers are flying across the miles to all of you. What a beautiful man Maurice was! Comforted to picture the grandchildren singing to their beloved grandpa on his journey to heaven.
Love, Mary Jo and Dick
I too am saddened by the passing of this wonderful man! Each time I saw Maurice, he brightened my day. He seemed to pass on peace and love to each life he touched. The world was a better place because of him. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. He will rest now in peace.
Dear Mahli Family,
Please accept my deepest condolences at this difficult time. I am so very sorry for your loss. Hold fast to you beautiful memories of him.
Dan and Ellen and family – so sorry for your loss and our thoughts are with you.
Ellen and family –
My thoughts and prayers are with you as lay Maurice in God’s hands. May he watch over you all as a guardian angel in heaven. Hoping and praying that your warm thoughts and memories of him bring you comfort, joy and laughter!
Thinking of you all!
Erika Bartunek
My deepest sympathies for the loss of Maurice. He was fine man!
Clay Whittlesey
Fargo, ND
Meet Maurice when I worked at the hospitals in Fargo. Always had that warm greeting to everyone: patients, families, employees & strangers. He will truly be missed in the public but he is with God above , who he served. my condolences to the family during this most difficult time.
I’m writing from our summer home in the White Mountains of Arizona.Just happened to see Maury’s obituary on the Forum website.
.We lost track of one another over the years. Of course, I have good memories of working with Maury at St. Johns Hospital as well as sharing the sadness when the hospital was sold.He was a warm, caring person.
My heart goes out to Ellen,Dan and David.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you Ellen Dan and Dave,
Keep your Memories close to your heart.
Ellen, Dan, Dave and family,
So sorry to hear about Maurice’s death. I will miss seeing him at Mass on Sunday and visiting with him at the Fercho Y. My thoughts and prayers are with you and for him. I will be unable to attend the service, since I will be out of town, but will send a memorial in his name and memory.
Ellen, you know you and your family have our deepest sympathies. I’m so sorry we can’t be there for the prayer service or funeral. You’re in our hearts and prayers. Much love, Jean & Jerry Pladson
JoAnne and I were saddened to hear of Maurice’s passing. Ellen probably remembers how Maurice and I loved to converse and discuss. I remember one Sunday morning in particular. JoAnne and I came home from church and Maurice was outside. At that time, we lived across the street from Mahli’s and he and I began one of our conversations…more like a “mini-seminar.” We began to talk as JoAnne began to mow the lawn. We didn’t have a small lawn, but she finished with the whole thing and as she put the lawn mower away, Maurice and I were still talking. I felt a little Lutheran guilt for talking while she worked. However, I couldn’t resist a conversation with Maurice.
We will always remember him as extremely knowledgeable and kind, a gentleman and a scholar. He will be missed by all of us. May God be with Ellen and the family during this time and in the future. God bless the wonderful memory of Maurice Mahli.
Maurice was a very special person. He will be greatly missed by many, but his memory will be kept alive in the lives of the family members who loved and cared for him. It was my privilege to get to observe the great joy he and his grandchildren shared when they were together. I am sorry I didn’t have the opportunity to know Maurice better. It is my loss.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Ellen and family. My deepest sympathies in the passing or Maurice Mahli. It’s hard to say goodbye to someone we hold so close and dear. Ellen, I know how you feel as I lost the love of my life and best friend almost 2 1/2 years ago. Love and prayers to you and your family.
what a nice man, a true family man who was considerate, intelligent,and caring,
We should all hope to leave such a legacy.
Maurice was a wonderful friend. He was kind and gentle with a wonderful soft spoken voice. What a loving husband, father and friend! It was an honor to have known him. He will be truly missed.
Love to all the Mahli Family. Mary Ellen Gibson
My heartfelt condolences to you, Dan, your family, your wonderful mother Ellen,
I wasn’t privileged to know your father or the rest of your family, but if he was anything like you & your mother he was certainly worth knowing. I so deeply appreciate your commitment to help all people have access to better lives and to share the same resources so many of us take for granted. I know many in the Native American community consider you & your Mom to be wonderful friends and supporters,
Only The Best,
Donna Grandbois
I just watched the video and what a wonderful family-man who truly loved his family.
“Grant that he who has known the mystery of Christ’s love on earth may also enjoy his happiness in heaven.” Deepest sympathy.
Ellen,
I so enjoyed Maurice in water aerobics — he was a treasure! Thinking of you in these hard times.
Ann Burnett
Dear Ellen and Family,
Thank you so much for assembling the video reflecting such loving moments in Maurice’s life. It was clearly evident that he treasured each of you and found great joy in his relationships with family and friends. You have precious memories to hold dear. Please know that many are thinking of all of you and holding you in our hearts.
With deep sympathy and love,
Grace and Loren Kyllo
Ellen & family: Our sincere condolences. I will remember Maurice as a soft spoken gentle man. His presence at Nativity Church will be missed. Blessed be his memory. Donna & Roger Hentges
O Ellen, have just heard of the loss of your soulmate and love.
You were blessed to have had so many years of sharing and
giving. Know that we wish for you the comfort and warmth of
a lifetime of memories.
Dear Ellen, Dan and Kim, Dear Mahli children and grandchildren:
I’ve just learned about the loss of my dear friend Maurice through a Google search.
Maurice and I met when we were young Palestinian refugee adults working for Aramco in Dhahran, in th desert of Saudi Arabia in the 1950’s, all innocent young men searching for a livelihood. .
The Diaspora of now millions of Palestinians took away our homes, our neighborhoods and our ability to live as neighbors in our communities. It did not take away the closeness of our hearts, the life of our roots or our just cause . With many, our diaspora enabled us to spread our best and most caring to the rest of the world. So did Maurice, with his beloved wife Ellen, his children and and children.
Maurice emigrated to the US in the 1950’s when I went to England to complete my college education. We kept touch in writing for a few years when he lived in Framington, MassachusettsWe regained touch briefly after I had moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1970’s and he moved to Fargo North Dakota and started a business in Medical Waste Management.
Maurice was always inspirational to me, a man filled with goodness, love, life, hope and promise.
I am certain that his character, his value and his personality have been passed on to his seed.
I ask God to bless his soul, to care for you all and to keep his memories alive in all of you.
Until we meet again, dear friend, “Au Revoir”.
With sincerity, Warmth and sadness,
Hasan A Hammami
5070 LaCosta Island Ct
Punta Gorda, FL 33950
hahammami@aol.com