DEARBORN — Known for his gregarious personality and ever-present smile, Mohamed Jaber left an indelible impact on the communities in which he lived, from Michigan to his native Lebanon.

A family man, award-winning journalist and founder of the local Assabeel magazine, Jaber died this past Monday due to complications from dementia.

On Tuesday, January 22, family and community mourners joined together at the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights to mourn him, prior to his burial at Islamic Memorial Gardens in Westland.

While his memory began to leave him in his latter days, the countless memories he shared with family, friends and the many communities he covered will live on.

“My father left imprints on everyone’s hearts wherever he went,” Jaber’s daughter Sarah Moussawl said, “because he treats everyone with love and respect and that is what is received in return.”

Jaber, a former writer for The Arab American News, moved to the U.S. from Lebanon in 1990 and started his own magazine three years later.

He could often be seen documenting events in the Arab American community and socializing with everyone from local and foreign political dignitaries to government officials to everyday people in the community.

“He was a humble man who treated young and old, rich and poor alike,” Moussawl said. “He had an infectious smile and a booming laugh that lit up any room he walked into. He will be dearly missed by family and friends.”

Jaber fell ill with dementia roughly two years ago and suffered about six of seven mini strokes over the years according to his doctors, his son Adham said.

Despite his medical hardships, Adham Jaber said his father was known for his intelligence and ability to “talk circles around anybody” thanks to his many years as a professional journalist both in Dearborn and Lebanon, where he graduated from Lebanese University in Beirut.

Jaber was placed in hospice on Christmas Eve, before the disease finally began robbing him of the ability to speak. Adham Jaber said he was able to share many close moments with his father prior to his passing even despite the hardships.

“To him I was the man, but to me he was right up there with God,” Adham Jaber said. “He was loved; and overseas he was bigger than life. I could never repay him for everything he did.”

Mohamed Jaber and his wife, Ayda.

Following Jaber’s passing, several community organizations offered condolences and commemorative messages.

“Sincere condolences to the family of the Journalist Mohamed Jaber and to the entire Lebanese Community… May his soul rest in peace,” wrote the Consulate General of Lebanon in Detroit.

“His heart was characterized by the elegance, elegance and elegance, and this was part of his endearing personality, blood, which had a great impact on his colleagues and friends,” wrote the Lebanese Press Editors Association.

Jaber is survived by his wife, Ayda, children, Adham, Nancy, Sarah and Lois, and six grandchildren.

“There is a saying that goes ‘he who has children, does not die,’” a message written by his children on Facebook read. “Rest Easy, Baba. Your legacy lives on through us.”

Isbouh commemoration services will be held at the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights on Saturday, January 26 from 5-7 p.m.

A tribute video in Arabic from the What’s Up Media Network can be viewed below.