Dr. Saeeda Dalal's Obituary
On September 19, 2021, the world lost and heaven gained a uniquely beautiful human being. Dr. Saeeda Dalal died peacefully at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California, a few days after suffering a major stroke that led to a coma. She was 85. Her two sons were at her side throughout the days, and many friends came to see her.
Saeeda was born on October 21, 1935 in Belgaum, India, into the Momin family. She had 7 siblings. The family soon moved to Poona (Pune) where Saeeda lived until she left India. She was a top student throughout her school years, talented in debate and art. At an early age she chose medicine as her profession. After pre-medical studies at Wadia College, she attended the B. J. Medical College and then completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology. Always open to alternative medicine, her approach to healing would eventually include homeopathy, Ayurveda, and other holistic methods.
Saeeda married in 1961 and moved to Tanzania with her husband Abdul, a psychologist. They opened a small nursing home and maternity hospital in Dar es Salaam that served a small local community. They moved to London in 1964 for a short stay where she continued her practice as a locum physician, and then to Boston the same year.
Saeeda settled in the US, living in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Oregon, Kansas, New York, Georgia, Nevada, and finally California where Mount Shasta was her cherished home for 20 years. She raised two sons, Khalil (Michael) and Arif (Steve), who became technical professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area. Having taken a long break from medicine to be a homemaker, she returned to her profession in 1981 with an entirely new specialty. After completing a residency in psychiatry at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, she held staff positions at hospitals in several states until her retirement.
Saeeda had a dazzling array of talents, passions, and interests. She was an accomplished painter (oil, acrylic, watercolor), displaying and selling her works in shops and art galleries. Having an extraordinary green thumb, her every home was graced with flowers, plants, and vegetable gardens. An expert seamstress and knitter, she creatively made her own clothing and knitted afghans, shawls, and scarves that she gifted to friends and family and sold in local boutiques. She was a spectacular cook, known for creative dishes and culinary experiments. While signature Indian preparations were her speciality, she tried her hand at a large variety of international cuisine. She was always famous for her baklava.
Saeeda was a deeply spiritual person who saw truth in every religion. Her roots were in Islam, though over the course of her life she embraced other teachings as well. Short stays in 1962 and 1970 at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India were transformative periods. Later she immersed in Zen Buddhism at the Shasta Abbey. She practiced meditation, attended spiritual retreats, and was an active member of both Buddhist and Christian communities. She prayed daily, and her life seemed like a constant communion with and love for God.
Saeeda's retirement years were spent diversely, working as a floral designer, sales clerk, storekeeper, taking classes at a community college, writing poems and sharing them in a poetry group, participating in water aerobics and other activities at the local senior center, hosting fabulous dinner parties in her home, caring for her beloved cats and birds, and enjoying visits and vacations with family and friends.
In the summer of 2017, Saeeda's sons moved her to Santa Clara to be near them and their families, which included her grandson David, now in high school. She had mild Alzheimers by this time, and needed help with household chores and the care of her beloved cat Simba. She lived in the Villa Serena retirement community, where she enjoyed meals in the community dining room, daily group activities, nature outings and restaurants every weekend, and yearly vacations, including a tour of India in 2018 where she met most of her relatives. Despite her cognitive challenges, she remained cheerful, humorous, and highly mobile until her final days.
Saeeda was laid to rest at Skylawn Memorial Park on September 21, 2021, in the “Garden of Mountain View" that on a clear day also offers a view to the ocean. She faces Mecca in the Islam tradition. Family and close friends attended a simple burial service that included Buddhist prayer, recitations from the Koran and Sri Aurobindo, and Sanskrit song.
Saeeda will be most remembered for her cheerful, gregarious, caring, loving, and motherly nature. She had a spontaneous and hilarious sense of humor, and a huge, infectious laugh that filled the room. Always generous and big-hearted, she gave much of her time to friends in need, and donated to charities regularly. She was a close friend to many, and will be dearly remembered by all who knew her.
What’s your fondest memory of Saeeda?
What’s a lesson you learned from Saeeda?
Share a story where Saeeda's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Saeeda you’ll never forget.
How did Saeeda make you smile?
