Mary Diab Haddad January 9, 1932 – September 14, 2018 Mary Diab Haddad, 86, of Michigan City, Indiana. , passed away Friday, September 14, 2018, at 10:43 a.m. at Life Care Center of Michigan City, where she had been a patient since July. A native of Lebanon, she had lived in Michigan City since marrying Charles Haddad in 1959, and became a U.S. citizen in 1963.
She was known throughout the community for her devotion to family, faith, and hospitality. She was an excellent cook, most especially known for baking Lebanese breads and pastries. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 22, in St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Buffalo and 10th Streets, Michigan City.
Burial will follow in Greenwood Cemetery, Michigan City. The family will receive visitors from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday and 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Ott/Haverstock Funeral Chapel, 418 Washington St., Michigan City. Mrs. Haddad was born in Ain Ebel, Lebanon, to the late Said Roukoz and Hanneh (Jishi) Diab on January 9, 1932.
She discovered as an adult that her birth certificate had erroneously recorded her birthday as February 9, 1931, but she continued to use it for official purposes. On November 21, 1959, in Michigan City, Indiana, she married Charles J. Haddad, who preceded her in death on September 29, 2002. Surviving are daughter Anne (Christopher Hart) Haddad of Baltimore, Maryland; two sons, Joseph (DeeDee) Haddad of Indianapolis and James Haddad of Michigan City; four grandchildren, Catherine (Michael) Haddad Reeves of North Stonington, Connecticut, Jacob Haddad of Indianapolis, Daisy Hart of Baltimore and Evan Hart of Baltimore; five sisters-in-law, Philomina Diab of Lebanon, Carol Haddad of Michigan City, Violet Diab of California, Therese Diab of Ontario, Canada, and Luce Diab of Quebec, Canada; special niece, Annette Wienke of Michigan City, and many other nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and one great-great nephew.
She was preceded in death by her sister, Suad Diab, and her five brothers: Francis, John, Youssef, George and Elie Diab. Mrs. Haddad retired as a dietary aide from the former Woodview Nursing Home in Michigan City. Before that, she had worked at many jobs in the four countries where she lived, starting with her first job as a teenager, running the front desk for Anazeh dry cleaners in Haifa, then part of British Mandate Palestine, as well as later for the same family at their business in Beirut, Lebanon.
She was hired for her fluency in Arabic, English and Hebrew, all the languages of the customers. After coming to Toronto in 1957, she worked at Sunnybrook Hospital until she married and moved to Michigan City. Her jobs in Michigan City included being a lunch aide for Garfield School and a Michigan City Police Department crossing guard at the corner of Ohio and 11th streets.
A devout Catholic, she was a member of both Sacred Heart Catholic Church and St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Michigan City. Contributions in Mrs. Haddad’s honor may be made to Share Foundation for the Handicapped, P.O. Box 400, Rolling Prairie, IN 46371, or to the National Federation of the Blind (nfb.org), 200 East Wells St., Baltimore, MD 21230.
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