Joseph R. Rizk passed away peacefully at home with his wife, Betty Ann, and daughter, Tia Anne, by his side on January 3, 2015 at the age of 92. He was born in Heliopolis, Egypt on January 1st, 1923 to Joseph R. Rizk and Mathilda Heinen.
Joseph was Copt and Christianity was an important part of his life. He attended English Mission College for his elementary education. While in school, Joseph was always interested in athletics and he started running competitively and won 3 trophies for the half-mile. Sports continued to play an important role in his life, and he became involved in cricket and tennis. He then attended Victoria College in Alexandria, graduating in 1942.
After graduation, he worked at Shell Oil for 15 years in Alexandria. During this time, he spent many hours at Stanley Beach with his brother, Magdi. He joined the Smouha Country Club, and his passion became golf. He played in professional golf tournaments, winning several trophies. He worked early mornings and headed to the golf course by mid-day. After playing 18 holes of golf under the Egyptian sun, he cooled down by drinking tea and eating sandwiches with friends.
These friends were as cosmopolitan as Alexandria itself. This city was a haven for all religions, countries and cultures. Joseph was a Copt and his friends were Jewish, Muslims, Christian, British, French, Italian, Greek and Maltese.
By the mid-50’s, the political situation in Egypt became tenuous and he felt he needed to make a change in his life, so he decided to immigrate to America and he entered the University of Wisconsin as a freshman at the age of 39. He discovered the sport of football during the Lombardi era and has been an avid Packer fan ever since.
Joseph eventually pursued a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and it was during this time he met his wife, Betty Ann. They married in 1964 and celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary Sept. 5th, 2014.
In 1965, he started working at Boeing in the Commercial Aviation Division which included: test flights, work with VIP planes and their delivery to various countries, working at Boeing de Havilland in Toronto for three years and also in Indonesia for 1 ½ years.
Before and after retirement, he and his wife enjoyed traveling and did so at every opportunity. His main interests were politics, world events and sports.
Joseph lived an adventurous and accomplished life. He will be greatly missed.
Donations can be made in his name to Evergreen Hospice in Kirkland, Washington at http://foundation.evergreenhospital.org (designate hospice) or your local hospice.