Mahmoud Ihsan Essaid passed away on April 7, 2020 at his home in Old Greenwich. He was 86 years old. Mahmoud was born in his grandfather’s home in Jaffa, Palestine on Dec. 21, 1933 to the late Ihsan and Zuleikha Essaid where he lived until 1948. Over the subsequent years, Mahmoud lived throughout the Middle East and the United Kingdom finally settling in Greenwich, CT in 1979. He came to America seeking a better life for his family and found it.
Mahmoud attended St George’s School in Jerusalem, Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt, and Fitzwilliam College of the University of Cambridge. More recently, he was a member of the Columbia University Seminar on the Middle East, where he was remembered for his kind intelligence.
Mahmoud was a devoted and loving husband to his wife of 54 years, Rana Essaid. He was generous, a true gentleman in all his dealings. He was also admired for his courage, independence and stubborn conviction. He was a caring family man, a successful businessman, an erudite scholar and a passionate advocate for his homeland and his adopted home.
Over the last 20 years or so Mahmoud could be found almost everyday riding his bike around Tod’s Point. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Greenwich Point Conservancy (greenwichpoint.org) in his name.
In addition to his wife Rana, his brothers Said Essaid and Nadim Essaid, Mahmoud is survived by four sons and their families: Ihsan Essaid of Old Greenwich, Ghazi Essaid of New York City, Zeid Essaid of Norwich, Vt. and Ramzi Essaid of Los Angeles, Calif., as well as six grandchildren.
