Ryan Kareem Fraitekh

Ryan Kareem Fraitekh



Ryan

Fraitekh,

accounting professional, musician,

poet, paintball enthusiast and beloved son, grandson, partner, nephew and cousin passed away on March 22, 2022, from a serious illness. His mother and grandmother were at his side in the emergency room where he died at the age of 30. He was preceded in death by his father, Emadeddin Fraitekh and his grandfathers' Herb Hughes and Jamil Fraitekh and grandmother Nihmat Fraitekh.

He is survived by his

loving mother Katherine Hughes-Fraitekh, grandmother Nancy Hughes, and long-time partner Holly Reese in Albuquerque, New Mexico, uncle Bryn Hughes and cousins Hannah Hughes and Emelia Hughes in Brisbane, Australia, uncles, aunts and cousins from his father's family in Palestine, and second cousins across the US.

Ryan was born in Washington, DC, in 1991. He moved to Atlanta, GA in 1992 while his father attended graduate school at Georgia Tech University and then with his family to Albuquerque, New Mexico where he has lived since. He graduated from Sandia Highschool and Southwest Learning Center in 2009 and then completed a BS in Accounting and Finance from the University of New Mexico. After graduating, Ryan started a job as an accountant at Senspex, Inc. and over several years was promoted to Financial Controller and a member of the management team. While working full-time, Ryan earned his MBA from the University of New Mexico's Anderson Business School and a professional Certification of Management Accounting, CMA. He previously worked at Southwest Child Care Center and at PBA paintball while attending college.

Ryan began playing paintball with a neighborhood team at age 10 and the sport remained extremely important to him over the next 20 years as he played on several winning teams in the southwest at the advanced, semi-pro and professional levels, including with RTK, Duke City Coalition, and Phoenix Contact. He has been involved in recent years in organizing, refereeing, and photographing tournaments with other team members, many of whom were his closest and lifelong friends.

In addition to his profession as an accountant and financial manager, Ryan had eclectic tastes and interests and was a self-taught pianist and bass player, poet, music producer, outdoor enthusiast, gardener, and home chef. He traveled to several countries as a child including with his mother and father to Palestine and Jordan to meet his extended Fraitekh family at the age of three and to Kuwait to visit friends. He also visited several European countries on a Eurail pass tour with his mom due to his love and fascination of trains for most of his childhood. He spent time in San Francisco and hiking in the Redwoods last September on a "bucket list" trip with his partner Holly and friends prior to falling seriously ill.

Ryan was highly intelligent and creative, a loyal friend, dedicated partner, and hard worker. He enjoyed building and designing things and sports such as soccer, tennis, golf, and snowboarding throughout his life. He loved to spend time with friends and had a special connection to Karaoke and a nearby bowling alley which he called his "Cheers". He believed life was only worth living with a close partner and team members watching out for each other and having each other's backs.

Ryan's passing came much too soon and cut short his many dreams and plans for the future including traveling the world, spending time with his family in Palestine, gardening, building new businesses and a paintball field, involvement in poetry slams and publishing his poetry, expanding his musical recordings, and starting a family. Ryan's early death is a tragedy and shock to those of us who knew and loved him, and he will be badly missed by his family, partner, friends and work colleagues.

We are planning a weekend memorial and Celebration of Life for Ryan including a memorial on Saturday, April 30, 2022 from 2 -3:30 pm at New Life Presbyterian Church on 5540 Eubank, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111. A Day of Community Paintball organized by his teammates and partner to honor Ryan will be held on Sunday, May 1, 2022, 10 am - 4 pm at Ruckus Paintball Field in Rio Rancho. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in Ryan's honor to support vulnerable families in New Mexico through projects for peace, justice, and local and sustainable farming with American Friends Service Committee, AFSC,

donate to: https://www.afsc.org/office/albuquerque-nm.