Obituary for Haki H. Ozbek
POUGHKEEPSIE – Haki Halil Ozbek, a 45-year local area resident, died at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie on Saturday, February 2, 2019. He was 95.
Son of the late Şevket and Şevkat Ozbek, he was born in Istanbul, Turkey on April 23, 1923. Raised in Turkey, Haki grew up in Lüleburgaz and attended boarding school in Edirne and later graduated from Kabatas Lise High School.
He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1947 and came to the United States to study at the Universities of Utah and Arizona. He went on to study engineering and taught at the University of Nebraska. He then returned to Turkey and helped start the Ortadoğu Teknik Üniversite in Ankara, modeled after the University of Nebraska. He was the school’s first English translator and calculus professor.
In 1962, Haki returned to the U.S. with his family and worked as a professor for the University of South Dakota. In 1974, he moved with his family to the Hudson Valley, where he was employed by the Dutchess County Department of Health. He retired as Senior Civil Engineer in 1987.
In 1958, he married Dr. Şahver Kirimman in Hastings, Nebraska. Haki was predeceased by his wife on April 6, 2013.
Survivors include his son, Cengiz Ozbek and his wife Esra of Saugerties; his daughter, Hande Ozbek of Poughkeepsie, his daughter, Dr. Aysegul Ozbek Nahar and her husband Michael of Madison, CT; his grandchildren, Dr. Ayla Senay, Stefan Can, Maya, Alara, and Sena Nahar; and many other relatives & friends.
Interment was held at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Putnam Valley. Arrangements were under the direction of the McHoul Funeral Home of Fishkill, Inc., 1089 Main Street, Fishkill.
For online tributes, you can visit Haki’s Book of Memories at www.mchoulfuneralhome.com.
Son of the late Şevket and Şevkat Ozbek, he was born in Istanbul, Turkey on April 23, 1923. Raised in Turkey, Haki grew up in Lüleburgaz and attended boarding school in Edirne and later graduated from Kabatas Lise High School.
He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1947 and came to the United States to study at the Universities of Utah and Arizona. He went on to study engineering and taught at the University of Nebraska. He then returned to Turkey and helped start the Ortadoğu Teknik Üniversite in Ankara, modeled after the University of Nebraska. He was the school’s first English translator and calculus professor.
In 1962, Haki returned to the U.S. with his family and worked as a professor for the University of South Dakota. In 1974, he moved with his family to the Hudson Valley, where he was employed by the Dutchess County Department of Health. He retired as Senior Civil Engineer in 1987.
In 1958, he married Dr. Şahver Kirimman in Hastings, Nebraska. Haki was predeceased by his wife on April 6, 2013.
Survivors include his son, Cengiz Ozbek and his wife Esra of Saugerties; his daughter, Hande Ozbek of Poughkeepsie, his daughter, Dr. Aysegul Ozbek Nahar and her husband Michael of Madison, CT; his grandchildren, Dr. Ayla Senay, Stefan Can, Maya, Alara, and Sena Nahar; and many other relatives & friends.
Interment was held at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Putnam Valley. Arrangements were under the direction of the McHoul Funeral Home of Fishkill, Inc., 1089 Main Street, Fishkill.
For online tributes, you can visit Haki’s Book of Memories at www.mchoulfuneralhome.com.