Obituary of Nora Bernadette Akiki

BURLINGTON, VT - Nora Bernadette (Maroun) Akiki, 76, of Tupper Lake, NY died in Fletcher Allen Health Care on November 19, 2008 after a courageous battle with cancer. Born in Tupper Lake on March 16, 1932, daughter of Said and Makeey (Btaiche) Maroun, she graduated in 1950 from Tupper Lake High School and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Potsdam State College in 1954 and subsequently her master's degree from SUNY Potsdam. She started her teaching career in the Nedrow, NY school system before joining the Tupper Lake school system from 1956 to 1992. In 1958, while traveling to Lebanon to visit family she met and married Kozhaya Shekrallah Akiki on November 25, 1958 at St. Ephrem's Church, Kfardebian, Lebanon. The couple returned to Tupper Lake where they made their home. She was a past president of the Tupper Lake Teacher's Association, past president of the Mercy Hospital Auxiliary, and a volunteer with Meals on Wheels. Her Catholic faith was a major part of her life and as a member of Holy Name Parish, she was a member of the Holy Name Altar and Rosary Society, taking special pride in altar floral arrangements, earning her the nickname of "Holy Name Flower Girl." She also served as a lector and eucharistic minister to the sick. Her interests included amateur radio, where she was licensed with the callsign KA2USX, and playing the piano at home, which she took up as an adult. Nora is survived by her husband of 50 years, Kozhaya Akiki and three sons and their families: Gregory and Carole Akiki and their children Nicole, Christine and Leah of Williston, VT, Geoffrey and Maria Akiki and their children Stephen and Andrew of Colchester, VT and Michael (Fram) and Jeanine Akiki and their children Samer and Maya of San Diego, CA. She is also survived by several nephews, nieces and cousins both here and in Lebanon. She was predeceased by three sisters (Elizabeth Maroun Sakr, Carimi Maroun and Julia Maroun) and one brother (Emmanuel "Mandy" Maroun). Calling hours will be on Monday, November 24 from 2PM to 4PM and 7PM to 9PM at the Stuart-Fortune-Keough Funeral Home (24 Cliff Avenue, Tupper Lake, NY). Online condolences can be sent at http://www.fortunekeoughfuneralhome.com/Tupper_Lake_144975.html. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, November 25 at 11AM at Holy Name Church (114 Main St., Tupper Lake, NY). Memorial gifts may be sent in Nora's name to: High Peaks Hospice and Palliative Care, PO Box 840, Saranac Lake, NY 12983 or at https://www.highpeakshospice.com/makeadonation.htm.