Family remembers Sir Aziz Hadeed as father figure, mentor and guide

Members of Sir Aziz Hadeed’s family offered deeply personal tributes at his official funeral Saturday, describing a man who functioned as a father, mentor and constant presence in the lives of those closest to him, and who measured success not by wealth but by the lives he touched.

Francis Hadeed, delivering the tribute on behalf of the Hadeed family, told mourners at the Holy Family Cathedral that he had worked alongside his uncle for 35 years from the start of his career.

“His thoughts and lessons will remain with me for the rest of my life,” Francis said.

He recalled that Sir Aziz gave no special privileges to him or his brother Andrew when they joined the family business, starting them both on the showroom floor and insisting they learn from the ground up.

“Whether it was Gray’s Farm, Old Road, Marble Hill, Hodges Bay — everyone was treated equally,” Francis said, describing what his uncle had taught them about serving customers. “Uncle Aziz, I promise you today, your legacy will endure.”

Taylor Hadeed offered a tribute that drew from family memory and personal affection, describing Sir Aziz as the family patriarch who pinched cheeks, bit ears and loved unconditionally.

She recalled his focus at board meetings, where he was already deep in the financial statements before others had settled into their seats.
“He’d tell me over and over — numbers don’t lie, understand the numbers,” she said.

Taylor noted that Sir Aziz had pushed for her to join the board of the family’s companies, and that she had been given his office at Hadeed Motors.

“I hope to make even a quarter of the impact that he did from that office,” she said.

She added that she and a cousin had secretly frozen an egg this Easter in an attempt to finally beat Sir Aziz at the family’s annual egg-fighting tradition. “We still lost,” she said.

Dr. Hassan Aboud, representing the Aboud family and speaking as Sir Aziz’s brother-in-law, said his sister Lady Mahasin Hadeed had worried about leaving her family when she moved to the island, but found in Antigua a chosen family that embraced her fully.

He described Sir Aziz as a humanitarian and visionary whose door was always open.

“He was never one to turn anyone away,” Aboud said, recounting a story Sir Aziz had shared of a young man who came to his gates with no food and no shoes, and whom Sir Aziz sat with, listened to and gave an opportunity to excel.

Aboud said Sir Aziz would not have wanted those gathered to dwell in sorrow.

“I believe he would tell us, no, no, no — don’t be sad for me. He lived a life filled with purpose, love and accomplishment,” Aboud said. “He would want us to celebrate the life he lived and continue the work that he started.”