James Elias Haddad, 51, of Michigan City, passed away March 12, 2021, at 3:41 p.m. at his home.
A memorial Mass for family and friends will be broadcast live on Zoom at 1 p.m. Central Time on Saturday, March 20. The Rev. Dennis Blaney will officiate. To receive the link to attend, email HaddadFamilyMemorial@gmail.com by Saturday morning and the link will be sent to you. A recording of the service will also be available after March 23.
Jim was born in Michigan City, Ind., Aug. 19, 1969, the youngest child of Mary (Diab) and Charles Haddad. Although he lived in Chicago for several years as an adult, he eventually moved back to the family home soon after his father died in 2002, and cared for his mother as she became increasingly disabled. He provided loving and patient care to her for the rest of her life, until she died in 2018.
In his mother’s later years, Jim worked with her to transcribe her recipes so that he could do the cooking. His specialty was yachnat luby (a Lebanese green bean stew). He also faithfully recreated his uncle Abe Haddad’s cheesecake for family, friends, and co-workers.
Jim attended St. Mary’s School until Grade 8, and graduated from Elston Senior High School in 1987. He attended Purdue North Central University but was soon lured away by jobs in information technology, where he thrived. He was a member of Mensa, a society for people who score in the 98th percentile on IQ tests.
In his tech career, Jim worked for 17 years at AMLI Residential in Chicago, starting as a PC tech in 1997, working his way up to network administrator and infrastructure administrator, before taking a job as a senior consultant for Forsythe Technology. Early in his career, he worked as a computer technician for Michigan City Area Schools.
One of his co-workers wrote, in a recommendation, “He is a hard worker and incredibly knowledgeable. He was always my first go-to if I ran into a technology problem that I didn't recognize. He is a very good communicator and can quickly and concisely break down complicated subjects and relate them to a subject matter that I am familiar with. He operates with a straightforward mentality and is excited to identify and solve any problem that gets put in front of him.”
Jim was loved for his intelligence, generosity, quiet manner, and sly sense of humor, as well as a hearty laugh when he was surprised by someone else’s clever wit. He was a master of puns.
Jim loved technology from the first appearance of video games and. personal computers on the consumer scene. He was an early adopter and rode the wave into all advances of computing and information technology -- professionally, recreationally, and artistically.
He enjoyed the music of Jonathan Coulton, Elton John, Queen, Rush and comedic minstrels such as Tim Minchin. He was an avid reader, especially of books by Isaac Asimov, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Arthur C. Clark and Douglas Adams.
Jim was also an excellent writer, able lay out a rational argument – as well as a passionate one. He could explain technology even to those who knew very little about it. His blog posts can be read at “Jim’s Tech Blog,” at jimhaddad.wordpress.com. On the question of the Oxford comma, he was solidly for it.
Jim’s favorite movies include Star Wars, Kubo and the Two Strings, and any high-quality animation or sci-fi, including TV shows Dr. Who, Babylon 5, and Star Trek. He loved to see movies with his friends and then have a lively debate about them.
Here is what Jim could not tolerate: hypocrisy, injustice, child abuse, racism, and all forms of prejudice and bigotry.
Jim is survived by his sister, Anne Haddad (Chris Hart) of Baltimore, Md., and brother, Joseph Haddad (DeeDee Haddad) of Michigan City and Indianapolis; nieces Katie Reeves (Mike Reeves) of Bloomington, and Daisy Hart of Baltimore; nephews Jake Haddad of Indianapolis and Evan Hart of Baltimore; grand-nephew Benjamin Reeves of Bloomington; aunts Philomina Diab of Lebanon, Therese Diab of Mississauga, Ontario, and Luce Diab of Ste. Victoire de Sorel, Quebec; scores of cousins; and his best friends since high school, Darrell Berrier and Ed Cooney (Mellissa Cooney) of Michigan City.
Donations in his honor may be made to The Share Foundation at sharefoundation.org or sent by mail to P.O. Box 400, Rolling Prairie, IN 46371, or to a charity of your choice.
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