Thank you all for being here today.  It will be hard for any of us to imagine life without our father, Omar.  Many people were shocked to learn he was 91 years old since he was in such good health and so enthusiastic when talking to his customers.

It was fitting that he died as he walked downstairs towards the store he loved so much and where he spent so many happy times.  We never knew how many people he touched during his 73 years he spent on Prince Edward Island, where he experienced many things he would never have imagined possible as a young boy in Lebanon.

Our father dreamed of traveling the world and owning a successful business.  Along the way, he left his homeland for a completely different country and way of life, learned a new language, encountered discrimination, spent many long years peddling goods across the countryside, struggled to keep his store running during the Great Depression, and lost his oldest son in the Second World War.

He accomplished his dream and raised a successful family, but we believe our father’s greatest achievement is how he brought our neighbourhood together.  All of the people here today, both Lebanese and non-Lebanese, here today are perfect examples of that.

We don’t think our father ever dreamed our people would not only be tolerated, but fully accepted, on Prince Edward Island in such a short time.  Charlottetown even has a Lebanese mayor now! We hope our father, and the other corner store owners in our city, will someday get the credit they deserve for this.

James, George, Charles, David, Michael and Nadia

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