Nick (Najah) Dawood Konja

Nick (Najah) Dawood Konja was born on May 3, 1962, and passed away from complications of pulmonary fibrosis on April 12, 2023. The son of Dawood and Warina Konja, Nick is survived by his brothers Salman (Rejina), Shoki (Miad), Nashwan (Cindy) and sisters the late Amira (Abdelahad) Abdal, Ghanima (Phillipe) Kanouna, Suad (George) Zakar, and Samira (Fiak) Garmo. Nick was a huge presence in the Chaldean community. He and his brothers underwrote the development of the Konja Family Art Studio in the Chaldean Community Foundation center, dedicated to art therapy for individuals in the program. As COO at Wild Bill’s Tobacco, he led the support efforts for frontline workers during the COVID pandemic, personally delivering thousands of face masks and surgical gloves to Ascension Hospital in Novi when they couldn’t get supplies and providing meals for essential workers in multiple locations on many occasions. Nick touched the lives of so many. With his huge heart, he gave selflessly to Christian refugees and other displaced people from the Middle East. And closer to home, when he heard of a family in Westland that had lost their father and husband, a firefighter who died in the line of duty, Nick organized a fundraiser. He also helped raised funds for the victims of the recent earthquake in Syria and Turkey through a drive initiated by the Chaldean Catholic Church. He was a big supporter of Chaldean Voice Radio and a Chaldean Church mission in Georgia. Fittingly, the latter organization will be honoring him posthumously on his birthday, May 3. Nick’s impact and his memory will live on.