Mr. Mickey Fyith was born in

1928 and came to Canada with his parents and other family members in 1949 from Kherbetrouha, Lebanon.

In 1952, Mickey took his marriage vows and realized that he needed a job in order for he and his wife to survive. Not knowing much English, he met up with Sied Ganam who accompanied Mickey to a City of Edmonton office and was able to help Mickey get a job.

Mickey and his wife lived with his Uncle Darwish Teha for a period of time. The energetic Mickey looked for a second job so that he could support a growing family. Mickey worked a total of sixteen hours a day at those two jobs. As time went on, Mickey looked for a house and bought one for $9,000.

It wouldn't be long before Mickey searched for new things to do. He quit his two jobs and started to sell cars and opened up an autobody shop where he repaired taxis and cars for AMA. He bought the building for $22,000 and later sold it for $141,000. Mickey then opened another body shop which employed nine people. The City of Edmonton planned freeway construction in the area and Mickey's building was scheduled for demolition. The city offered him an unsuitable amount of money for compensation and with the help from his lawyer,Ed Saddy, Mickey sold the property for close to $500,000. Not bad for a person who never attended school in Lebanon and who was self-educated in Canada in the ways of business.

At the age of twenty-seven, Mickey started to build houses in addition to other jobs he held. Mickey continues to be highly respected for his construction skills. One day, he was at the mosque and was approached by Khalid Tarabain and Moe Assaf who told him about wanting to build a school and they needed Mickey to supervise the project. Mickey’s wife agreed that he should accept the job and Mickey Fyith supervised the school's construction for eighteen and a half months.

Mickey's next project would be the renovation of the Al Rashid Mosque which he completed with the help of many volunteers, especially those from the Iraqi community. He also volunteered his services to a Ukrainian Church.

Mickey Fyith came from humble beginnings, but over the years, he has made very generous donations of his time and money. He acknowledges the work he has done, but feels he could have done much more! Today, at the age of eighty-six, Mickey Fyith is supervising the building of two houses which are scheduled for completion at the end of 2014. Mickey says that when these projects are done he will retire. With all of his ceaseless energy one wonders if he really will! 10Celebrating

years2005 - 2015

10 Contributed to the Community

Lebanese who have