Saleh A Zaki

1935-2016

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Saleh A. Zaki was a cherished father, husband, brother, uncle, colleague, physician and friend. Saleh Zaki, M.D., Ph.D. passed away on October 17, 2016 at Emory Hospital.

Dr. Zaki was born in 1935 in Cairo, Egypt. He was a young intellectual, in a closed society and, despite the political consequences, he spoke his mind – often speaking and publishing his views in a subversive yet satirical fashion. He studied medicine and received his medical degree from the Cairo University Faculty of Medicine in 1959 and spent a year interning at Cairo University Hospital in 1960-1961.

He married a fellow medical student, Afaf, and shortly thereafter had a daughter. When he received a British Counsel scholarship to study and train in pathology at the University of Birmingham, England, he took his young family to Britain for four years. He was a pioneer in the study of Rheumatic Heart disease – utilizing electro-microscopy which was the state-of-the-art at that time. For his Ph.D. thesis, Dr. Zaki produced the definitive study on the subject. In December of 1964, he was awarded his Ph.D. in pathology.

In 1965 he returned to Egypt where he and Afaf had a second daughter. He lectured in Pathology at the Asuit University Medical School. After the 1967 six day war, the political situation in Egypt grew even more repressive. Yet he was undeterred in his public pronouncements. He called out government hypocrisy and propaganda, thereby placing him on an ever growing list of perceived government subversives. As the government was arresting and imprisoning its critics and his friends, Dr. Zaki took his small family and escaped from Egypt. He made his way to Yemen, under the guise of a family vacation. He had less than $10 in his pocket and was unable to take with him any family belongings. He recalls his dramatic escape from Egypt as the one time in his life that he knowingly violated the law (by fleeing the country illegally).

Dr. Zaki dreamed of immigrating to the United States of America, but first he had to flee Yemen, find a safe place to live and a job to support his family. He took a position as a Senior Tutor in Pathology at Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1968-1969, Belfast was also a hot bed of violence. Dr. Zaki and his family applied for, and were granted, immigration to the United States. In 1969, the Zaki family settled in Atlanta, Georgia. He became an American citizen in 1976 – the year of the bicentennial.

He continued his pathology practice in the United States and in 1972 he received his certification from the American Board of Pathology. Although he enjoyed and excelled in surgical pathology, by chance and by necessity, Dr. Zaki worked most of his life in the field of forensic pathology. In 1973, he joined the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office and in 1976 he became the first individual in the State of Georgia to receive board certification in Forensic Pathology.

Dr. Zaki became the Chief Medical Examiner in Fulton County in 1988. He was invited to take the position of Chief and initially accepted the position reluctantly. However, when he reflected on his life, he evinced a great pride at the accomplishments of his 10 year tenure as Chief Medical Examiner. As Chief, Dr. Zaki led the effort to create model forensic science institutions in Fulton County and throughout 155 counties in the State of Georgia. Dr. Zaki forged partnerships with state and local agencies and spearheaded legislative reforms, including particularly the Georgia Death Investigation Act. He altered the nature of medical examiner services from a mere arm of law enforcement into a diverse team of medical and professional specialists, including anthropologists, dentists, nurses, EMTs and law enforcement. Dr. Zaki advocated for, and instituted, forensic training programs and lead the effort to fund and create a state of the art Medical Examiners’ facility –the new Medical Examiners’ building now bears his name. In addition, he championed his staff and fought to provide competitive compensation for the medical examiner professionals. Finally, he continued to teach – by serving as a lecturer and/or faculty member at Emory University, University of Calgary, Alberta Canada, University of Alabama and Morehouse School of Medicine.

He retired in 1998 with plans to pursue his medical interest in surgical pathology, build a lake house and learn to fish. But he never had that chance because his wife Afaf was diagnosed with cancer and he spent the following four years caring for her and loving her. In between her multiple surgeries and chemotherapies, he tried to make her dreams come true. Despite the great sadness of these years, he considered caring for Afaf his greatest accomplishment.

After Afaf’s death, Dr. Zaki was inconsolable. He was, however, blessed with another love. He remarried a Russian physician named Elena. Dr. Zaki and Elena were married for 10 years and traveled the world together.

Dr. Zaki was surrounded by his family and friends when he passed. He is survived by his wife Elena, his two daughters, his brother and many remarkable friends who more like his extended family.

Dr. Zaki’s family asks that in lieu of flowers, please send donations to the WINSHIP CANCER INSTITUTE OF EMORY UNIVERSITY, 1365 Clifton Road, N.E., Building C, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 and/or the ALIF INSTITUTE, 3288 Marjan Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30340. The family will receive friends Friday, October 21, 2016 from noon until 1 at Patterson’s Spring Hill Chapel. A funeral service will be conducted at 1 in the Patterson’s chapel, entombment will follow at Arlington Memorial Park. Online condolences may be made at hmpattersonspringhill.com.