Freddy Alexander Khoury

Freddy Alexander Khoury, a longtime Washingtonian who worked as a physicist for the federal government, died on April 9. He was 94.

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, on Nov. 29, 1930, he was the son of Karam and Nina Khoury. He graduated from Victoria College in Alexandria, where he was a senior prefect, and attended the University of Leeds, where he earned a PhD. in polymer physics. While studying in the UK, he took the opportunity to be in the crowd at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Freddy worked in industry in England and later in the United States – first in Boston, then in Philadelphia. He later joined the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), which became the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where he worked for nearly three decades before retiring in 1992.

Early in his career, Freddy was one of the first scientists to observe “crystal twinning,” where adjacent crystals of the same mineral are oriented in a symmetrical manner. Later, while at NBS, Freddy was the first who observed the formation of curved polymer crystals using an electron microscope.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Laila Tarabulcy Khoury, another Alexandrian; two sons: Peter and Paul (Jane); and two granddaughters, Nina and Christine.

Freddy remained active in retirement, occasionally lecturing at the University of Akron and assisting post-doctoral fellows with their research. He also worked part-time for 17 years at the National Science Foundation, where he served as an expert in the Division of Materials Research, assisting with managing the review and evaluation of grant proposals. He finally retired for good when he was 88.

Hard-working and busy raising twins, Freddy and Laila enjoyed a weekly respite together in their earlier days: lunch on Saturdays at Chez Camille in downtown Washington. In their later years, they explored the American West, checking out places like Cody, Wyoming, Santa Fe., New Mexico, and much of Oregon and Arizona.

They loved their adopted country and went down to the National Mall every Fourth of July to watch the fireworks, until “creaky bones” dictated otherwise.

Freddy and Laila always supported each other in their times of need, and he devoted his final years to caring for her.

Freddy delighted in the accomplishments of his sons and granddaughters and often regaled his family about the myriad changes he had seen in a life that spanned three continents and 10 decades. He recalled the air raids and blackouts during the North Africa campaign in World War II, as well as pleasant summers spent at his family’s cabin on Stanley Bay beach, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. “I am, at heart, a beach bum,” he said.

A memorial tribute will be held on Saturday April 26 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Joseph Gawler’s Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Central Union Mission.