Attorney Had a Passion for Stand-Up Comedy

posted on: Feb 5, 2011

George Saba Jr. never let a congenital heart defect slow him down.

Mr. Saba, an attorney, loved to travel and had another hobby — stand-up comedy, said his brother Paul.

“He performed at the Arab-American Comedy Festival in New York,” said Paul Saba, his brother. “Stand-up comedy was a passion of his.”

Mr. Saba died Friday, Feb. 4, after a massive heart attack. He was 26.

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Wayne State University, graduating in 2009. He opened up his own practice recently as a criminal defense attorney because he wanted to help people, his brother said.

“His passion for life was to live each day like it was his last,” Paul said. “He knew he had a disability, but it only empowered him to do all he could. His spirit for life will live on with us.”

In addition to his brother, he is survived by his wife, Jomana; his father, George Sr., also an attorney, and director of immigration services at the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services; his mother, Itidal; sister, Janan; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

“This is a tremendous loss to our community,” Suehaila Amen, vice president of the Lebanese American Heritage Club, said on the organization’s website. “George Saba Jr. was a charismatic, respectful and personable young man who always found the humor in a situation and had a joke to share. His charm was refreshing and his smile infectious. He will definitely be missed.”

Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Sunday at St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Church, 18200 Merriman in Livonia. Funeral Services will be at 9 a.m. Monday at the church.

Steve Pardo
The Detroit News