Mariam was born July 20, 1953 in Mombasa, Kenya. She is the youngest of four siblings. Amin Mohamed and Amir are older brothers and Gulshan her older sister.
Mariam’s parents moved from Mombasa to Thompson’s Falls in 1956. Mariam stayed in Mombasa for her education and lived with her aunt Malek Shariff from 1955 to 1962. She finished her O levels in 1968 at Aga Khan High School in Mombasa.
In 1970 the family moved to Nairobi, Kenya. She finished her A levels in 1969 and 1970 at Aga Khan High School in Nairobi.
She had a summer job at the accounting firm Deloitte, Haskins & Sells in Nairobi.
Her mother operated Amir’s Restaurant in Thompsons Falls, Kenya now known as Nyahururu. Mariam lived there with her mother and father.
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Mariam immigrated to Canada in 1975, joining her brother Amir and mother who were already here.
We met on her 23rd birthday that year. As things got serious, Mariam moved in with me to my studio in downtown Toronto. We spent our leisure time going to movies, seeing live jazz acts and visiting art galleries. Our first trip together was to New York City. One thing I really loved about Mariam was her total openness to new experiences.
We married in December of 1983 in Toronto and bought a house close to downtown.
In the late 90’s she studied to become a Certified Financial Planner and received her CFP designation in 1998.
Mariam worked for many CA firms in Toronto. At her last firm she worked a four day week and spent every Monday with her Mom.
We moved to Mississauga in 1988 to experience “suburban” living. Mariam started going to the Etobicoke Jamat Khana where she was an active volunteer for the next 14 years. In 1993 she was a Lieutenant.
We moved to Eagle Lake near Algonquin Park in 2002 and enjoyed a “back to nature/lakeside living” lifestyle. Mariam worked for Comsatec Inc. during this time and retired in June 2020.
We moved to Orillia, Ontario in 2019 for two reasons. We wanted a change (again) and try a “small town” lifestyle and Mariam wanted to be close to a Jamatkhana (church), which was in Barrie.
Unfortunately, all the family is not with us. Her father died in 1967. Her mother passed away in 2004 and brother Amin in 2020.
Note: For another perspective on Mariam’s life please read Douglas Lee’s eulogy here.
Mariam was a kind, loving ,and caring person. My sister Betty regarded Mariam as a daughter. Betty was very happy when Mariam and Doug got married. I got to know Mariam when she and Doug moved to Eagle Lake. They made the cottage into a charming lakeside home. Mariam loved flowers and invited me many times for dinner and to bless her gardens.
I was very sorry when they moved away .
We were in the process of building a loving, family bond.
I will remember Mariam as the beautiful person she was and for the way she cared for Doug.