Ghanim Majeed Elias

Ghanim was born on March 26, 1928, in Mosul, Iraq. His mother, Najma Saaty, was a strong and compassionate woman who defied cultural norms by sharing food with Armenian refugees, while his father, Majeed, was a builder and was committed to the wellbeing of Ghanim and his siblings. Despite this, the family periodically faced the challenges and insecurity of poverty due to the sporadic availability of work.

Ghanim was a creative and loving child with a thirst for knowledge. He found joy in gardening, chemistry, and crafts’ projects like kite-making. During one of his creative endeavors at a young age, a traumatic accident with scissors injured an eye, causing permanent vision loss. This seminal event helped inspire him to pursue a career in medicine.

In 1947, Ghanim immigrated to the United States alone, working tirelessly to fund both his college and medical school educations. He graduated from Loma Linda University Medical School in 1955 and then completed his residency in anesthesiology at White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles. From 1960 to 1998, he practiced anesthesiology at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, where he took exceptional care of his patients, with a special place in his heart for the youngest and most vulnerable ones. Ghanim was a devoted spouse and father and a lifelong Seventh-Day Adventist. His personal passions included nurturing the home yard’s many fruit trees and its productive garden, and always delighting in the beloved dogs, tortoises, and other pets that graced his life.

Ghanim is survived by his wife, Lucille Marjorie Loignon; his sons, James Victor Elias and Michael Craig Elias; his sisters, Adeeba Evans and Nahla Farraj; and his grandchildren, Micah, Jonah, Isa, Anna, Kayla, and Emma Elias. He was preceded in death by his parents, Najma Saaty Elias and Majeed Elias; his first wife, Bethene Hazel Avery; his brother, Salem Elias; and his sisters, Selma Tooma and Amal Elaimy.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on October 14, 2024, at Hillcrest Memorial Park, 1901 Kern Canyon Road, Bakersfield, California. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Ghanim's visitation will be Monday, October 14, 2024 at Noon, at Hillcrest Memorial Park 9101 Kern Canyon Rd., Bakersfield, CA 93306. His funeral service will follow at 1:00 p.m. and conclude with laying him to rest at Hillcrest Memorial Park 9101 Kern Canyon Rd., Bakersfield, CA 93306.