Aida Kassis

Aida Zahi Kassis (Aida Ibrahim Salman) went home to our Lord on December 31, 2021. She was born in Amman, Jordan, on February 28, 1953, to Waseleh and Ibrahim Joseph Salman.

In 1972, she married the love of her life, Zahi Yacoub Kassis, with whom she shared a life for 49 years (10 months shy of 50 years of marriage).  The newly married couple relocated and began a new life in New York where their first son, Jack Zahi Kassis, was born. They then moved to Hobbs, NM, in late 1974 and began planting many deep roots there, adding 2 more children to their growing family, Nadeem Zahi Kassis and Tina Zahi Kassis.  To date their family lineage includes 10 grandchildren who they deeply love and who are actively carrying out their legacy, faith in Jesus, hard work, and ambition.

Aida spent much of her life as a loving, stay-at-home mother.  She was dedicated to her family then and now.  She went on to enter the education field for many years and took part in helping grow a family business that has left a mark on their community. If asked, her children and grandchildren will say they felt her love and generosity as well as her fun sense of humor and lively attitude.  Aida had a couple of hobbies, including dressing up her home with beautiful decor and cooking, always making traditional Middle Eastern dishes as well as new recipes and offering her delicious meals to those she loved.  Without a doubt, this is going to be one part of her that will be greatly missed.

Aida was known to be very outgoing and friendly.  Her husband has spent many hours in the grocery store watching her talk to everyone that she ran into there.  She had a magical personality that made even a stranger feel like a close part of the family, a truly God-given gift.

Aida is preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Joseph Ibrahim Salman and Fouad Ibrahim Salman; and her sister, Violette Salman. She is survived by her husband, Zahi Kassis; her eldest son, Jack Kassis, his wife, Jennifer, and their children, Sophie, Zoie, and Rylie of Hobbs, NM; her second eldest son, Nadeem Kassis, his wife, Cindy, and their children, Kyla, Jade, Savannah, and Brooklyn of Hobbs, NM; and her daughter, Tina Garza, her husband, Anthony, and their children, Asher, Kass, and Luka of Lubbock, TX; and her brother, George Ibrahim Salman, his wife Elizabeth and their children, Natasha and Monica of London, England.  She is also survived by numerous extended family members, including brother and sister in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Her family was her life and for that, she will be deeply missed.

Ecclesiastes: 12:7- “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”