A life dedicated to medicine and volunteer work
Dr Nizar I. F. Kassam
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr Nizar Kassam, aged 77, on 27 December 2020 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dr Kassam was born on 2 October 1943 in Tanzania and graduated from BJ Medical College at the University of Pune in India in 1970. He interned in India and Tanzania, and worked briefly in the UK before moving to Darwin to work as a resident medical officer. In 1972, he joined Hawkins Medical Clinic in Mt Gambier, South Australia, where he settled with his wife, Parin, and raised his family on a farm just outside the city. In 1989, Dr Kassam moved to Canada to be closer to family and settled in Calgary, Alberta. There, he continued his illustrious career in family medicine and as a hospitalist.
Dr Kassam was well known for his volunteer work with the Ismaili Muslim community in Canada and with the local community. In 2016, he was awarded Fellowship in the College of Family Physicians of Canada for his dedication to family medicine in Alberta.
He had a love of farming and gardening, and although he left Australia over 30 years ago, his fondness for the country was evident from his shared memories and from the pictures of his cherished farm that decorated his living room in Canada.
Dr Kassam is survived by his wife, Parin, and his three children, Imy, Salima and Rizwan. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends, and by his patients who remember him not only as an outstanding physician but as a trusted friend.
Written by Dr Faizal Kassam FRACGP, who is the nephew of Dr Nizar Kassam and was inspired by his beloved uncle to become a doctor and pursue medicine in Australia.