Susie Sayad

Susie Elisha Sayad, age 87, passed away on April 9, 2025, in Shreveport, Louisiana. 

She was born on August 9, 1937, to Elisha Sayad Murad and Leah Gewargis Envia and grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, before immigrating to the United States of America in 1970.

Susie was a talented, artistic woman with a servant’s heart, and she dedicated countless hours to her family, friends, and the church, all of whom she loved.  She had a passion for sewing, gardening, interior design, singing, and languages.  Susie was strong-willed, extremely motivated, well-educated, detail-oriented, and discerning in her taste.  

Her talent for sewing was apparent from a very young age.  At five years old, little Susie wanted to add a pocket to her own apron to carry her treasures and toys, but her mother Leah had directed her not to do so.  Instead of listening, she added the pocket in secret, despite her mother’s displeasure.  This was not the only time that her talent got her into trouble.  In elementary school, one of her teachers thought that she had not completed a sewing assignment on her own because her skills were more advanced than was expected for her age.  Susie’s mother had to come to her defense to resolve the issue.  From elementary school through her high school years at The American School for Girls in Baghdad, she remained the top seamstress in her class.

Susie was an independent woman ahead of her time, continuing her education after high school and eventually entering the workforce.  She studied at Baghdad University, receiving a formal education in English and Arabic.  This allowed her the opportunity to teach English and Arabic as foreign languages.  She also utilized her knowledge of languages while working for the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Baghdad, the Iraq Petroleum Company, and the Baghdad Trade & Supply Company.

She remained in Iraq until her mother passed away in 1967.  Due to dangerous political unrest, Susie, her father, and her brother Leonard had to quietly leave the country in October of 1970.  They were unable to take much of anything with them, so she sewed their valuables into the lining of their bags to hide the little that they carried.  Upon arriving in the United States, they joined her brothers David and Samuel, initially settling in Denver, then quickly moving to Chicago, where Susie eventually became a US citizen in August of 1976.  

In Chicago, she continued to take care of her family while also venturing out on her own to find her first job at Carson Pirie Scott, much to her father’s dismay.  As a buyer for the famous department store, Susie was the first to see the new clothing designs before they were released to the public.  If she liked the design, she would make it in her size so quickly that her co-workers always wondered how she was wearing the clothing before anyone else.

As a member of the Assyrian Church of the East, Susie was active in church life and was one of the founding members of Rabi Nebu Issabey’s choir in the early 1970s.  She continued singing in the choir at every church she attended and always made an effort to invite the younger generations to join and continue the tradition.  During this time, she was asked to make some of the choral attire and costumes for different events and shows.  Her skill as a seamstress was such that she was asked to make the vestments for the church elders including the priests, bishops, and multiple Patriarchs.  She continued in this role over the course of her life, even after leaving Chicago.

In 1984, Susie and her father Elisha joined her brothers in Shreveport, Louisiana, where she began working in the family business.  She continued to take care of their father in the final years of his life until he passed away in 1987.  

While Susie never had children of her own, one of the greatest joys of her life was spending time with her nieces and nephew.  She loved to sing songs with them, play games with them, and remind them that they each were her “Bookhta, Shapirta, Honenta”, “Boona, Aziza”, and her “Maymoon”.   Whenever she would visit, her nieces would steal her purse and hide it from her in order to keep her from leaving.  She likely knew where it was, but she delighted in the game, nonetheless.

Susie had a great love of learning and continued to pursue different avenues of education throughout her life, including computer science at Roosevelt University in Chicago, as well as further computer courses, math, bookkeeping, and accounting at both Bossier Parish Community College and the American School of Business in Shreveport.  In 1995, she followed her heart to California, where she began to pursue her passion for Interior Design, something she had always wanted to do.  She eventually earned her certificate in Interior Design from Las Positas College as well as several other related certifications.  While she held positions at a few companies, her favorite and longest-running job was as an interior designer with The Home Depot Design Center.

Susie spent the remainder of her time in California doing the things she loved: gardening, entertaining, sewing, traveling, and continuing to stay active as a member of the Assyrian Church of the East.  Unfortunately, her time in California was cut short due to the development of dementia, and her brother Sam moved her to Shreveport in 2018 to live with his family until her death on April 9, 2025.  

Susie is preceded in death by her parents: Elisha Sayad Murad and Leah Gewargis Envia; and by her sister and brothers: baby Florence Elisha Sayad, David Elisha Sayad, baby Shmuel Elisha Sayad, and Leonard Elisha Sayad.

Left to cherish her memory are her brother Samuel Elisha Sayad (Lynn); her sister-in-law Nora Paulissian Sayad; her nieces and nephew: Ramona Sayad Smith (Jeremy), Ramsen Sayad (Jennifer), Mary Kearns, Rachel Sayad Sangsura (Smink), Leah Sayad, and Samiramis Sayad Johnson (Blake); her great nieces and great nephews: Caroline Smith, David & Joy Sayad, Kyla Kepson (Andrew), Devin Kearns, Jessica Kearns, Samantha & Savannah Sangsura, and Amelia & Oliver Johnson; her great great nephews: Thayer & Alden Kepson; and many more cherished family and friends.

Visitation will be held on Friday, May 30, 2025, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at Christian Funeral Home located at 3526 N. Cicero Ave, Chicago, IL 60641.

Services commemorating her life will be officiated by Qasha Antwan Latchen from 10:00am to 11:00am on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at Mar Gewargis Cathedral located at 7201 N. Ashland Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60626.  

Committal to follow at 11:30am at Saint Luke Cemetery located at 5300 N. Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL 60630. 

Immediately therafter, family and friends are invited to return to Mar Gewargis Cathedral for a luncheon in Susie’s honor.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to The Assyrian Church of the East.
https://acoeildiocese.givecloud.co/donate

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Susie Sayad, please visit our floral store.