Biography:

Joseph Isaac Mansoura, was born on 28 December 1928 in Cairo, Egypt to Samuel and Camille Mansoura.  He passed away peacefully with his family surrounding him on 15 April 2020.  He is survived by his wife of nearly 58 years, Karin Mansoura, his eldest daughter, Monique K. Mansoura and her partner Mistye, his youngest daughter Annette Owens, her husband Jimmy Lee Owens and their 2 beautiful daughters, Sydnee and Ava, who were the absolute joy of his life. He lived a prayerful life filled with courage, gratitude and love and always centered on his family and his faith.

He is preceded in death by his older brother, David, older sister, Renee, and younger brother, Jacques. David Mansoura died in an accident in 1942 and for the rest of Joseph’s life, David was an ever-present source of love.  He grew up in Heliopolis, on the outskirts of Cairo where he was exposed to many cultures and languages.  He thrived in this  multicultural, multilingual environment.  Through his siblings and cousins, and brother-in-law, Klaus and his wife, Ilona, we have cherished family across the world, including Israel, Europe, Sweden, Canada and the greater NYC area. 

He completed his Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Cairo in 1952 but found little opportunity for work because of his Jewish faith.  As a result of persecution so common to many Jewish families in Egypt in the 1950’s under the Nasser dictatorship, he had to flee and sought his way to America, while the rest of his family emigrated to Israel and Europe.  Their personal departure from Egypt reflects that of our ancestors as recounted over many centuries during Passover.    

His passage to America was delayed, and in typical Joseph fashion, he made the most of a setback and, from 1956-59 he lived in Paris, France and studied advanced engineering at the Sorbonne University.  He lived in the Latin Quarter and developed a love for Paris and the French culture that he carried the rest of his life.  Until his final days he would serenade his family and all around him with his favorite song, La Vie en Rose.    

He arrived in the United States in 1959 on the Queen Mary.  He spent some time in New York City where his cousin Isaac was carrying on the traditions of their family’s middle eastern pastry shop in Cairo by establishing their shop, Mansoura’s, in Brooklyn that, to this day, serves delicacies that are treasured across NYC and far beyond.

He settled in Detroit, a place that he and his family would proudly call home for almost six decades.  Detroit was where he met the love of his life, Karin, and in 1962 married and soon began raising their family, while he pursued a successful 27 year career ar Ford Motor Company until his retirement in 1993.  He continued to work as an engineering consultant and loved mentoring many engineers of a younger generation.  Joe and Karin loved travel, but there was no place like their favorite beaches on the Outer Banks of NC,  From 1978-2017 they spent innumerable and memorable time with family and friends at vacation homes and ulimately, their retirement home, appropriately named “Dreamcatcher.”   

In 2016 Joseph and Karin moved to Little Rock to be closer to their granddaughters and Annette and Jimmy, and where Monique would often visit.  They found a welcoming community at Woodland Heights where they met and enjoyed new, cherished friends and the joy of spending more time with family.

Joseph (aka Joey-Joey) was charming and kind and will forever be remembered by his family and friends as their loving, generous husband, father, Papa, and friend.  He was a charter member of the Holocaust Memorial Museum and supporter of several Jewish charities.

The only thing larger than the sense of loss he leaves is his loving spirit that lives on in all of us.