Sabahat Ahsan, M.D., 1938-2005

The following obituary is from the Buffalo News:

SabahatDr. Sabahat Ahsan of Amherst, an obstetrician who cared for indigent patients, died Tuesday in Erie County Medical Center after a brief illness. She was 66.

Born in Muzzaffarnagar, India, she graduated from Aligarh Muslim University and Gandhi Medical College.

She emigrated to Karachi, Pakistan, in 1962 and practiced obstetrics and gynecology there and in Lahore before coming to the United States in 1971. She settled briefly in Cincinnati before coming to Buffalo in 1972. She continued to visit Pakistan annually and remained devoted to its culture.

For 23 years, she took care of indigent patients at the East Side Health Clinic in Buffalo, choosing to do that over having a private practice.

She designed her ultramodern house and much-admired garden.

A lover of the arts, Dr. Ahsan patronized many cultural institutions in Buffalo and New York City.

She was married twice – to Mohammed Kamal Pasha from 1959 to 1967 and Dr. Syed Tasnim Raza from 1971 to 1996. A son, Farooq Raza, died in 1991.

Survivors include two daughters, Samina Raza-Eglimez of Amherst and Alia Raza of New York City; a son, Asad Raza of New York City; three grandchildren; two brothers, Wahid Mohammed of Buffalo and Ahmed Mohammed of Islamabad, Pakistan; and two sisters, Wajahat Fatima and Farhat Fatima, both of Islamabad.

Obituary and death notice here.

Sabahat Ahsan was the mother of 3 Quarks Daily editor (and my nephew) S. Asad Raza. You can read a moving tribute to his mother, that Asad gave at the memorial service, here.