Hayat Barakat Obituary (1937

Hayat Barakat, nee Cassis, age 82, of Bethesda, Maryland, passed away Wednesday, April 8, 2020. She was born in Lebanon daughter to Rachid and Mariam Cassis. She received her high school education in Beirut, Lebanon. The family immigrated to the U.S. in 1955 to join grandparents in Toledo, Ohio. Three months later, they moved to Detroit, Michigan. To help support her family, Hayat took on a variety of jobs. Her first was as at Blue Cross & Blue Shield. Later, after only three months at Klein's Department Store in Detroit, Hayat's enterprising and ambitious spirit earned her a first place sales award. She met and married Halim Barakat and they moved to Ann Arbor where she worked to support Halim's PhD education at the University of Michigan. Wherever Halim and Hayat ventured in pursuit of Halim's work, Hayat worked to support the family, volunteered and supported charities and her church. Upon moving to the Washington D.C. area, Hayat held positions in two of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the nation while employing her hosting and culinary prowess to tirelessly entertain family, friends and dignitaries. During the past year, she triumphantly fought ovarian cancer only to answer to the call of her God peacefully in her sleep. Hayat's crowning legacies are the nieces and nephews she helped raise and nurture and the scores of dear friendships she cultivated all her life. The family grieves yet celebrates a life full of love, giving and a gentle spirit. She is survived by her husband of 58 years, Dr. Halim Barakat, brother Victor (Nancy) Cassis of Florida and the many nieces and nephews of the Barakat, Cassis and Doumani families. She is preceded in death by her parents Rachid and Mariam Cassis (nee Abou Assaly) and brother and sister-in-law Louis (Mona) Cassis. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Ss. Peter and Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church, Potomac, Maryland.