It is in the hope of the Resurrection and Eternal Life we announce the falling asleep in the Lord of Archdeacon Issa Saleem Rizkallah on January 11, 2021 surrounded by his children. Issa was born in Ramallah, Palestine in 1943 and immigrated to Michigan in 1967 with his bride, Afaf. Together they raised four children and were blessed with 34 years of marriage. Issa and Afaf dedicated their lives to raising their children, teaching them the importance of family, church and community.
Archdeacon Issa is preceded in death by his wife, Afaf, brother, Jabra and his parents. He leaves behind his children, Nancy (Neil), Saleem (Rebecca), Samer (Sandy) and Ron as well as his brother, Edward and sister Mary (Rizkallah) and many nieces and nephews. He is Cido to Lauren, Zachary, Jesse, Jonah, Aiden, Austin and Andrew.
More than anything, Issa loved to be with his family, especially in his backyard for a summer bar-b-que. His seven grandkids loved his silly jokes and the little ones loved getting “special surprises” every time Cido went to visit them. His four children were always close to Issa and never missed an opportunity to spend quality time playing games, cooking and just plain “hanging out”. Issa’s second home was St. Mary’s Basilica in Livonia. Since 1972, Issa has been serving his church, first as a chanter, then in 1996, was ordained as St. Mary’s first Deacon. It was a huge milestone in Issa’s life as well as St. Mary’s history. Then in 2012, Deacon Issa was given the highest honor by Metropolitan Philip to be elevated as an Archdeacon. Only a few people in the entire United States hold this title. Archdeacon Issa and Father George Shalhoub hold a special bond – rarely do you see one of them without the other…they are truly brothers in Christ. They spent 50 years serving the parishioners of St. Mary Basilica: from officiating weddings, visiting the sick, to supporting parishioners in both celebrations and sadness. Additionally, Issa had special bonds with the entire clergy at St. Mary’s, especially Father Jim King, who was like a son to Issa.
All who knew Archdeacon Issa knew that his smile would light up a room – he loved his community and was dedicated to helping those in need. Archdeacon Issa loved to laugh and he loved to make people laugh. He had friends everywhere – he was passionate about family and dedicated his life to serving the Lord.
Our dad, cido, uncle, deacon, and friend will be immensely missed.
Rest in eternal peace.
Issa will lie-in-state at the Basilica of St. Mary on Thursday, January 14th from 6-8:30pm. The Trisagion Prayer Service will begin at 8:00pm.
18200 Merriman Rd.
Livonia, MI 48152
+1(734) 422-0010
On Friday, January 15th, the Divine Liturgy will begin at 10:00am followed by the Funeral Service.
We urge all who plan on attending to make it easy and practice social distancing. Masks must be worn and please do not congregate in the church.
Donations, in loving memory to the church Issa loved – The Basilica of St. Mary.
May his memory be eternal.
Prayerfully Yours,
Fr. George Shalhoub