On October 20, 2016, Noorali Rahemtulla passed away peacefully in Burnaby General Hospital a few weeks after celebrating his 90th birthday.
Noorali’s life was the kind books are written about. He was born in Nairobi, Kenya to Khatija and Gulamhousein Nathoo Rahemtulla, the first-born and eldest of a family of twelve. After gaining experience in the retail business in Nairobi, he lived and ran a retail store in the jungle in Belgian Congo, moved to a village in the Congo, to the UK, then immigrated to Canada and the West Coast where he enjoyed building and renovating houses for sale. Then he met Joyce O’Doherty and together, in 1992, they moved to Grand Forks where they built a duplex and spent many happy years enjoying the community, neighbourhood and friends with whom he often shared stories of his fascinating life, his love for computers and music. More recently, during his poor health, Noorali and Joyce lived part-time in Burnaby.
Surviving Noorali are Joyce O’Doherty (his partner of 30 years), sons Moez and Karim, four grandchildren, five sisters and four brothers, many nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.
A funeral service is being held at the Ismaili Burnaby Lake Jamatkhane on Friday, October 28 at 11:30 a.m. Donations in memory of Noorali may be made online to Partnership Walk for Poverty or to the Joyce (Noel) O’Doherty Health and Wellness Endowment Fund, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Condolences may be sent by e-mail to: jeodoherty@hotmail.com.
“... be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”
– From Desiderata by Max Ehrmann.