Paul J. Abbas

ABBAS, KHOURY, CALLAHAN, JUNG, MUNDT, MACARTHUR, CLARK

Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 9/3/2024 at 09:31:44

Paul J. Abbas, of Iowa City, passed away unexpectedly on August 26, 2024.

Visitation will be held from 2-4 PM, Friday, August 30, 2024 at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City. A Celebration of Life will follow at 4 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The University of Iowa Foundation; Paul Abbas Scholarship.

Paul James Abbas was born on August 28, 1947 in Lawrence, Massachusetts to Lucienne Lucille (Khoury) and Joseph James Abbas. His father owned a Lebanese Bakery making Syrian bread where Paul worked as a young man. His mother was a nurse and loving mother. Paul was the second of six children; Joseph Donald (Marilyn) Abbas of Jacksonville, FL, Marie (John) Callahan of Charlottesville, VA, Jayne Abbas of Manchester, NH, Annette Abbas of Methuen, MA and James (Ranu Jung) Abbas of Fayetteville, AR.

Paul was a great student who won a full scholarship to St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston in 1969. He began working on a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. It was while he was living in Baltimore, MD he went on a blind date in Boston wearing a baggy suit and a paisley tie, where he met the love of his life, Janet Mundt. The couple married in 1971. After Paul graduated in 1974, they moved to Iowa City.

For forty years, Paul Abbas was an exceptional teacher and researcher in the top ranked Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Iowa. Paul progressed from Assistant Professor to Full Professor and Department Chair, retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2016. He started by studying how the ear worked. He then joined the Otolaryngology Department at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics who had just begun exploring the use of electrical stimulation to activate the hearing nerve in individuals with profound hearing loss. His expertise pushed the development of Cochlear Implants forward across the global field. He was a treasured mentor to all students he taught and worked beside. Paul made many dear lifelong friends and continued to guide them even after he retired.

Paul was also a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. Paul and Janet were proud parents to three daughters, Sandra Abbas of Iowa City, Lizzie (Regan) MacArthur of Park Ridge, IL, and Jo (Lindsey Clark) Abbas of Iowa City; and four grandchildren, MJ, Thea, Wyatt and Sylvia. Paul and Janet shared a love of traveling, camping, canoeing, fishing, bird watching, cooking and eating which they instilled in their family. Their equal partnership has been a model of love and respect for everyone who knew them.

Aside from his 4 pm beer and chips, Paul always kept moving with many interests such as, playing the piano, fixing things, reading history books, NYT Spelling Bee, and baking Syrian bread and pizza in his wood-fired oven. But none of it compared to the joy he got from spending time with his grandchildren. Their Jido attended every event or performance he could and never turned down a request for a game, fishing or sharing a treat. He would patiently teach or explain things, but also loved to be silly and made kids laugh with his puns and jokes.

Paul Abbas was one of those people everyone loved. He was kind, caring, thoughtful and funny. He touched the lives of so many. He left us too soon and he will be truly missed.

Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
 

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