Taj Afza Ahmed

Our beloved Taj, wife of Syed Misbahuddin Ahmed, mother to Roohi, Shabina, Naheed, Nazim (Vanessa), grandmother to Cameron, Jayden, Elianna and Tess, passed away peacefully on her birthday Oct 24, 2024, surrounded by family and close friends.

Taj immigrated to Ottawa, Canada from Bangalore, India as a young bride in 1965. 

Amongst the earliest significant wave of immigrants to Ottawa of South Asian descent, Taj was fluent in Urdu, Hindi, Kannada and English. Taj loved Canada. She brought culturally diverse communities together, supported her husband's efforts to build the first Ottawa Mosque, traveled with him to world scientific conferences, and devoted herself to raising four children whom she encouraged in studies, music lessons and sports. She studied at the University of Ottawa, was President of the Ottawa Muslim Women’s Auxiliary, a Girl Guides of Canada leader, a Welcome Wagon Hostess, a volunteer at Seniors’ homes, and a recipient of an Ontario Award for Excellence in Community Services. 

She loved people, had a gorgeous smile, a gentle voice, had a pure, charitable and kind heart, often did random acts of kindness and easily made hundreds of friends from every background. She was a nature lover and enjoyed family picnics, camping, long walks, entertaining with delicious cooking and was involved in a mutually meaningful way with her neighbors. She was a loving daughter, sister, aunt and cousin to her family in India and other parts of the world with whom she kept in touch. Taj had youthful, sincere and fun-loving qualities, was relentlessly optimistic, and determined right up to her last breath to live for her family. She had a unique sense of humor and ability to laugh and make others laugh.    

Taj was laid to rest at the Beechwood Cemetery on Oct. 28, 2024.  Her legacy will be continued by her children whom she taught to be helpful, to make a difference in Canadian Society and to make a positive impact on the lives of others.  She will be greatly missed. 

The family kindly requests in lieu of flowers, to make donations in Taj’s name to: Any food bank of your choice or May Court Hospice on Cameron Avenue, Ottawa or to a Canadian diabetes organization.