The Zoghby family name is a well-known name in Mobile.
One of the family matriarchs has died at age 90. Cecilia Theresa Zoghby had a visitation and Rosary on Monday December 29 at 5 p.m. and a funeral Mass at 1:30 p.m. on December 30 in Mobile.
In the cathedral where she was memorialized, Cecilia Zoghby had sung for years in the choir under the direction of iconic Christopher Uhl.
Cecilia has been a community leader for nine decades as an active student leader and musician at the Cathedral School and Bishop Toolen High School where she graduated in 1954. To put that in perspective, at the time of Cecilia’s graduation, the President of the United States was Dwight Eisenhower.
She and her classmates remained lifelong friends. She outlived most all of them.
Cecilia was the seventh child of George and Emma Zoghby, born on September 23, 1935. She was named after the patron saint of music. It was an appropriate name because Cecilia used her talents in both piano and singing from an early age.
After graduating from high school, she followed the family tradition of business, opening Zoghby’s Enterprises, first in Prichard, Alabama and later in downtown Mobile. She was a leader in the Business and Professional Women of America.
At home, she remained devoted to her parents and years later became their primary caregiver.
She led the Lebanese-American Club of Mobile and, in 1976, was its president. An annual scholarship launched during her presidency continues. She also served as Vice Chair of the Executive Board of the Southern Federation of Syrian-Lebanese American Clubs.
In her later years, she sang a capella at daily Mass at Mobile’s Little Flower Catholic Church.
A lifelong learner, she pursued her undergraduate degree in history from the University of South Alabama in later life, graduating in 1977. While a student, she sang with the college choir in Europe, including a performance in Vienna, Austria.
Her academic work enabled her to continue toward a Master’s Degree in history, which she completed in 1981.
Mobile’s traditional Mardis Gras season was observed by Cecilia and the Zoghby family. They used her downtown store as their headquarters for watching Mardi Gras parades.
To her nieces and nephews, she was known for her glamorous jewelry, story-telling and singing voice. At each wedding, she sang traditional Arabic songs to the bride and groom, providing poignant memories for generations.
Her strong voice and love for her family and heritage remained true over the decades.
She continued her mother’s tradition of baking Lebanese butter cookies, known as ghraybeh, for weddings and other special occasions.
She was well-known in Mobile’s judicial and legal communities through her brother, the late Judge Michael Zoghby.
Mobile and Alabama have lost a long chapter in the Catholic community, the Lebanese Community, the music community, the business community, the Mardi Gras community, the history and story-telling of Mobile and her family and friends.
In her honor, donations may be sent to the Lebanese-American Club of Mobile, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Visitation Monastery.
Jim Zig Zeigler is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. His beat includes the positive and colorful about Alabama – her people, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former State Auditor and Public Service Commissioner. You can reach him at [email protected]
