Haig Der-Houssikian Obituary (1938 - 2024)

Haig Der-Houssikian, beloved husband of Gaylynne Der-Houssikian, passed away April 11, 2024. He will be remembered by all who knew him as a kind, caring, and sweet person who loved teaching and doing research in his field of linguistics. Haig was born in Heliopolis (Cairo), Egypt on August 16, 1938, to Vagharsh and Adrine Der-Houssikian. He attended the English Mission College (now As-Salam College), where he learned English, and then the American University of Cairo. Subsequently transferring to the American University of Beirut, he met Gaylynne Hall who was also a student there. It was love at first sight, and two years later they were married in the Anglican church by the visiting Archbishop of Jerusalem. They lived in Beirut for a year and graduated together—Haig with a master’s degree in political science and Gaylynne with her B.A. Haig received a fellowship from the University of Texas to pursue a Ph.D. in political science, but the offer of a linguistics research fellowship to translate Armenian documents led to earning a Ph.D. in Linguistics. This was a natural path for him, since he was fluent in Armenian, Arabic, French, English, and Swahili, which also enabled him to make numerous friends from many cultures. He joined the University of Florida faculty in 1967 where he taught Swahili and linguistics until retiring in 2003. He helped establish the Center for African Studies and was its director 1973-1979, was instrumental in developing the Linguistics Program, and was the founding chairperson (1982-91) of the Department of African and Asian Languages and Literatures. He left a legacy of care and encouragement for all his students and fellow faculty members. While a UF faculty member, he conducted research on Swahili in Kenya and Tanzania. He also took leave to teach at universities in Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Togo, and Zimbabwe as a senior Fulbright Scholar or a U.S. Information Agency Academic Specialist. These experiences provided him with an exceptional degree of understanding of various African cultures and languages. After retiring he and Gaylynne spent time sailing with friends in the Caribbean and traveling the world with Overseas Adventure Travel. Haig is predeceased by his parents and his sister Anahid and is survived by his wife Gaylynne, his nephew Garo (Araxi), niece Adriné (Sarkis) and their children. Donations may be made in his name to the Armenian Eye Care Project and the Armenian Tree Project. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 am, Saturday, April 27, at the Baumann Center.