Mahmoud MANZALAOUI

MANZALAOUI, Mahmoud Ali
1924 - 2015
After a brief illness, Mahmoud passed away peacefully in St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, on January 21, 2015. Scholar, teacher, and friend to generations of students in Egypt, England, and at the University of British Columbia, he was renowned for his conviviality, good humour, and generosity. Born in London, England, he graduated from the University of Cairo in 1944 with a degree in English literature. Thereafter he studied at Oxford University where in 1954 he finished his D.Phil. His academic supervisors included C.S. Lewis and J.A.W. Bennett. While his interests were wide-ranging, much of his scholarship concerned the connections between Arabic and English literature. He published anthologies of Arabic short stories and drama, as well as Secretum Secretorum: Nine English Versions, which appeared in 1977 as a volume in the Early English Text Society series. Those UBC students who took his courses on Chaucer and other medieval topics will remember him for his lively classroom readings and informative lectures. He worked hard to impress upon all of his students the importance of literature and its relation to life. In Egypt, Mahmoud is survived by nephew Tarek Yehia, nieces Laila, Camelia, and Ulfet Yehia, grandnephew Sameh Shaheen, and a large extended family. In Vancouver, he is survived by Dr. Aziz Nazif and Joan, Harriet Kirkley, and numerous friends, colleagues, and former students who will never forget him. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, February 2, at St. Mark's Parish Church (UBC campus), 5935 lona Drive, Vancouver, BC, followed by a reception at 11:45 a.m. at the UBC Golf Club. A Burial Ceremony will take place that day at 2:15 p.m. at the Gardens of Gethsemani Catholic Cemetery, 15800 - 32 Avenue, Surrey, BC. All are welcome.