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30
WINTER
2010
It is with great
sadness that I
inform you of the
loss of my brother
Bessilios Bessos.
He passed away
on Thursday Au-
gust 12th, 2010. I would like to pay tribute to Bessilios who was my brother, my
teacher and my friend. I was enrolled in the International College in 1963 at the
age of 12 where Bessilios was a well liked and respected Biology teacher, his other
job being a pharmacist. Bessilios was 18 years older than me so it took a while
for fellow students and teachers to realise that I was actually his brother and not
his son, for I was often referred to as “Ibno la mister Bessos”. Whether regarded
as his brother or his son, his reputation gave me a sense of pride and confidence
which helped me through my secondary school years. Having him as a teacher
at IC, though, had its disadvantages. For my own teachers were able to report to
him directly and on a regular basis on any of my misdemeanours. In my last year
at IC Bessilios was my biology teacher and his exquisite, stimulating, and above
all, caring methods of teaching inspired me and many of my fellow students to
succeed, particularly in medicine and medical sciences. In the mid to late 1980s
he helped his three children (two of whom had also studied at IC) to leave Beirut
for Glendale, California, rejoining them with his wife in 1989. Aged 58 at the
time, my brother took up a Biology teaching post in LA, at the same time setting
out to prepare over 4 years for his US pharmacy license examination which he
passed at the age of 62, no less; a magnificent achievement.That enabled him
to switch from teaching to pharmacy management which he practiced until he
passed away, surrounded by loving children and grandchildren and doing the
things he cherished most.
Hagop Bessos ‘70
We regret to inform you that Joseph Der
Torossian ‘55 passed away on October 21.
IC staff and faculty send their deepest con-
dolences to the Der Torossian family.
“
He who has gone, so we but cherish his
memory, abides with us, more potent,
nay, more present than the living man.” -
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
And thus, ends the story. But where does
it start?
A man was driving too fast. He was cross-
ing the road.The man had no control over
the car. He was crossing the road.The
car was going faster than the speed limit.
He was crossing the road.The car met
him, and tragically hit him, making him
fall onto the ground, and grievously pass
away.That is the end of the story. We all
know the end of the story. But... Where
does it start?
I could tell you that this story starts 17
years ago, when Talal Kassem was born.
But this is not the story. After knowing
him for years, we lost the beginning; we
let go of the past and simply knew him.
Talal is hard to figure out, and honestly,
hard to describe. I’m working hard on
finding the words to describe him but
what I see in my mind, is beyond words.
And I’m sure most of my classmates
agree with me. By the name Talal, we see
a smile, we see a laugh; we see the rebel.
We often live to follow the rules and
regulations enforced by our entourage,
and we force ourselves to accommodate
to them. I have known Talal to be the one
to set himself free and loose, and work on
playing and living by his own rules and
believes. Maybe some of us rejected this
idea before, but now we learn the value
of it. If we just evaluate our lives, try and
look back at the time we lose planning,
and worrying and waiting. Talal taught
us action. He didn’t wait for things to
happen, he fought hard to accomplish
what he aimed for and live up to life’s
challenges. When I was sitting with my
friends and classmate, remembering
Talal and the days we spent with him, we
constantly said, “He lived the shortest, but
the fullest”. Talal was the rebel.
In our classroom, Talal is still there. He
still has his very own desk, and no one has
the right to sit on it, since it is reserved
for him. And every time we turn to see
The
legend
of a
rebel
Talal Kassem
Hagop Bessos ‘70 and Bessilios Bessos in the Canadian Rockies, August 2010