Habtemariam Tesfazion

Habtemariam Tesfazion passed away peacefully at the age of 73 in his home on the 2nd of December, 2019. He was born 5th out of 7 siblings in Adi-Sherefeto, Eritrea on October 14, 1946 to parents Tesfazion and Sembetu. As a young boy, Habte was an avid soccer player and, as his mom would describe him, very active. She would tell Habte’s grandchildren when he yelled for them to sit down calmly, that he had no place to tell them that since he was the same if not worse. Later in his life, Habte would travel to Asmara, Eritrea and attend a boarding Seventh-Day Adventist school. It was here that a beautiful young woman caught his eye. She was so beautiful that he soon married his lovely wife, Abeba Andebrhan, and they had their first son Dayan in 1969.

Habte was always looking to better his family and this desire brought him to Walla Walla, Washington in 1978. He attended Walla Walla College and earned two degrees, a BA in Business Administration and a BS in Respiratory Therapy all while milking cows full time to take care of his family. Habte was not only busy in earning two degrees, but was also busy growing his family. In 1984, Yonas was born, and in 1985 Yoel was born. Now that Habte and Abeba had 3 sons and their degrees, they were ready for something new. Again, Habte’s desire to further his career and provide for his family took him on a journey, and this time it ended with a trip to Beltsville, Maryland.

Habte began and ended his career as a respiratory therapist at Laurel Regional Hospital, where he left a legacy of hard work, dedication, and making people laugh. At his retirement party, after 22 years, hundreds of staff members, doctors and administration attended to show how much he meant to them and to the hospital. Despite his feelings of sadness and fear of what retirement would bring, Habte was ready for the next chapter of his life.

In retirement, Habte became an avid swimmer. Those who spoke to him knew that in any conversation lasting longer than 5 minutes that swimming would come up. Besides swimming, Habte spent the last days of his life simply enjoying the rest. His three sons were grown and married, so he had grandchildren and great-grandchildren. This gave Habte a second life. His grandchildren and great-grandchildren made him smile like nothing else. Not a day went by he didn’t think about them and if one week went by without seeing them, the world was falling apart and his life was simply not the same. Although Habte did not have any biological daughters, he did adopt two. ShaRonda Habtemariam (married to Yonas) and the late Taunya Dandy Habtemariam (married to Dayan) were the daughters he always wanted and he looked at them as his own.

The legacy Habtemariam wanted to leave was simple: serve the Lord, work hard and ALWAYS remember family. This is more exemplified in the family name. Traditionally in Eritrea, the children take the father’s first name, however, none of his children followed this tradition as they wanted his name to be the FAMILY NAME. Now for generations to come, there will be a family named after him, THE HABTEMARIAMS.

He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Abeba Andebrhan, 3 sons, Dayan Habtemariam (the late Taunya Dandy Habtemariam), Yonas Habtemariam (ShaRonda Habtemariam), Yoel Habtemariam, 6 grandchildren, Yoseph Habtemariam (Chelsi Habtemariam), Millena Habtemariam, Tesfay Habtemariam, Ilyana Habtemariam, Leiya Habtemariam, Elyas Habtemariam; three great-grandchildren, Harlow Habtemariam, Theory Habtemariam, Noelle Habtemariam, and a host of other loving family members and friends.