Hoda Garnett

GARNETT - Hoda, nee Abushady, age 84 of East Islip, L.I. passed away on October 13, 2011. Born on October 2, 1927 in Alexandria, Egypt, Hoda was the youngest of three children born to Anna (nee Bamford) and Dr. Ahmed Zaki Abushady, renowned poet, publisher, scientist and professor of medicine at the University of Alexandria. In 1946 the Abushady's emigrated from Egypt to the United States, arriving by ship in New York Harbor in April of that year. Hoda was a photographer by vocation. She became a news photographer while serving in the U.S. Navy (1952-1956), the first native-born Egyptian to become a WAVE. A long-time member of the Professional Photographers of America, Hoda's work garnered many awards and was widely published, appearing in LIFE magazine and elsewhere. Hoda was a world traveler and a prolific artist. Living and raising a family for many years on Long Island's South Shore, she was drawn to documenting the landscapes of her locale: shor lines, light houses, bridges, night skies, snow-covered ponds, birches in bloom, children at the beach. Hoda had a keen eye for detail, a documentarian's compulsion to record and a great appreciation for the beauty found in the everyday. Surviving her is her husband of 55 years, Dr. Merrill Garnett, a daughter and a son: Joy of Brooklyn, NY and Wade of East Islip, NY. She also leaves her sister, Safeya Abushady of Alexandria, VA, two grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Reposing at the Fredrick J. Chapey & Sons East Islip Funeral Home, 200 East Main Street (1/2 mile west of the S.S. Parkway, Exit 45W). Visiting Sunday 1:00-5:00 PM. The family will honor and celebrate Hoda's life with words of remembrance on Sunday at 2:00 PM at the Funeral Home. Private interment Monday at the Pinelawn Memorial Park Cemetery.