Arlette Srouji

Arlette Effat Srouji passed away peacefully at her home in Oklahoma City on Thursday, October 15, 2020. She was 98. Born in September 1922 in Rio De Janeiro to a Brazilian mother and a Lebanese father, she lived a long and fruitful life. Early in her life, the family relocated to Lebanon where she blossomed. She graduated with a BS in Nursing in 1946 from the American University of Beirut. She married Dr. Elias Srouji in 1950, and left her beloved Lebanon to be with her husband in his hometown of Nazareth, Palestine, where for 17 years she was the head nurse in his pediatric clinic. In 1967 once again, she relocated this time with her husband and her own family, back to Beirut, Lebanon, where she longed to stay. There, she returned to AUB to gain a degree in public health and became director of a nursing school. In 1976, however and because of the civil war in Lebanon, the family was forced to move yet again; this time to Oklahoma City where she settled in to dedicate the rest of her life to her husband, his health and well being and to watch over her children raising their own children. She was a most devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She was an excellent cook and could throw a great dinner party, even very late in her life. She was Teita to all her grandchildren and they all loved her dearly. She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years. She is survived by her youngest brother Toufic of Sidon, Lebanon; her four children Maria Srouji, Sana Rettig (Phil), Salim (Susan) and Nabil (Penelope); nine grandchildren: Abdallah Saadah (Joanna), Nick Saadah, Farris Saadah (Beth), Waleed Bahouth (Jeannette), Reem O'Donnell (Patrick), Natalie Srouji (Carlos), Leila Srouji, Arlette Argyris (Dimitri), and Derek Srouji (Jourdan); and 14 great grandchildren. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM, Sunday, October 18, 2020 at St. Elijah Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Flowers That Do Not Wither Fund at St. Elijah.