El Miloudi Hamid

El Miloudi Hamid, 69, of Chattanooga, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014, after losing his battle with metastatic gallbladder cancer. He lived in the Chattanooga area since 1979. He was originally born in Morocco in 1944 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1974. He traveled extensively to Northern Africa and the Middle East as an exporter of technical parts. His work led him to exotic locations and introduced him to many fascinating people including the royal family in his native country of Morocco. His travels also led him into dangerous situations including his time as a hostage during the first Gulf War in 1991. Hamid was a hostage for four months in Kuwait and later in Iraq during which time he demonstrated his strength and fortitude in helping secure food and water for his fellow hostages. After his retirement in the early 2000's, he spent the majority of his time devoted to his seven children ranging from 15-45 years of age. His mother and father preceded him in death in his native country of Morocco. He is survived by his sons, Dean, Malik and Omar Hamid of Kansas City, his daughter, Candace Litherland of Chicago, his daughter, Miriam of Nashville and his sons, Zackary and Noah of Chattanooga along with their mother, Robin Epperson Hamid. In keeping with his wishes to advance research toward a cure for cancer, Hamid donated his body to medical research. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org, or to Erlanger Medical Center at www.erlangerfoundations.org/giving.