Dr. Muhammad Esmaili, a physician and longtime resident of Friendship, Wisconsin, died of cancer on October 25 at the age of 68. Forever young at heart, he will be remembered for his humor, his gifts for storytelling and poetry, and his love of learning and knowledge.
Dr. Esmaili was born on November 29, 1942 in Ardabil, Iran, located on the steppes of Mount Sabalan in Azerbaijan Province. In 1962, he attended medical school at Tabriz University, where he met his wife. Dr. Esmaili emigrated from Iran to the United States in 1969, where he continued his medical training at Prince George Hospital in Maryland, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Ohio Valley Medical Center in West Virginia.
Dr. Esmaili and his family moved to Friendship in 1978, where he remained for the rest of his life, serving the community as a general surgeon. Dr. Esmaili is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Dr. Jaleh Esmaili, their daughters Sarah Esmaili, Ranah Esmaili, and Neda Esmaili, their grandchildren, Lily and Ryan Alef, his mother, his three sisters and nine nieces and nephews.
Dr. Esmaili was an avid rose gardener, and his beautiful gardens drew visitors all summer long. He was a man of wisdom and lover of literature, poetry, philosophy, and music. He understood the importance of imagination and soul, and he knew how to be happy in life. He was a source of strength for those around him, and he had a profound impact on their lives. He set an example as a caring doctor and a loving husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother, and son.
He will be greatly missed but never forgotten.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 12th, 2011 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Gunderson Funeral Home, 2950 Chapel Valley Road, Fitchburg, WI 53711. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Nargess Foundation, Summit Credit Union, Account Number 8103900, P.O. Box 8046, Madison, Wisconsin 53708, or to a charity of choice.
Essays like this are so important to broadening people’s hrozions.
Dear Esmaili Family,
My sincerest condolences for your loss. I will alway remember that Dr. Esmaili welcomed me so warmly to the community and shared his love for roses with me. He will be greatly missed as an important member of our community.
Dear Esmali Family,
The sadness of your loss transcends to many. The Hosseini-Tabrizi family is just one of the many who knew Dr. Esmail professinally and for my father Reza, personally. We respected Dr. Esmali for his ethics and enjoyed his sense of humour and his great kindness.
We are sorry to hear of his passing and our sincerest and most heart felt thoughts are with you as a family. Sincerely, Reza, Elly and Afsaneh Hosseini-Tabrizi
Dear Jaleh khanom and family, I send my deepest sympathies!
Our thoughts are with you, Jaleh khanom and all your dear family. Ehsan and Janet
.mrs esmaili it is hard to find a word to make you calm .wishing you strength courage and peace.11 10 2011.
هرچند که زمان آشنایی ما بسیار کوتاه بود و بعد از مراجعت به ایران هم دوباری با هم تماس داشتیم، ولی خاطره این عزیز همیشه در یاد ما خواهد بود.
ژاله عزیز همدردی ما را بپذیر
ویدا و مسعود شکوئی
هرچند که زمان آشنایی ما بسیار کوتاه بود و بعد از مراجعت به ایران هم دوباری با هم تماس داشتیم، ولی خاطره این عزیز همیشه در یاد ما خواهد بود.
ژاله عزیز همدردی ما را بپذیر
I am sorry for yor loss Dr Esmaili was a good Doctor and a good man he will be missed. He also had the best roses gaarden I have ever seen.
Dear Ranah, my thoughts & prayers are with you and your mother and sisters during this difficult time. I remember being in your beautiful home way back in high school to work on some project or other. Your father was obviously a wonderful man because he helped raise three bright, beautiful, and competent daughters. Take care of each other!
I am so sorry to hear of the loss of Dr. Esmaili. He was a trusted and caring member of the Roche-a-Cri clinic team of physicians. Though Dr. Sankaran has been by personal physician for many years I saw Dr. Esmaili when Dr. Sankaran was not available, and I appreciated his professionalism and caring attitude. What a sad day for Adams-Friendship to lose such a great public servant. My condolences to all of his friends, family and co-workers.
Dear Jaleh and Family:
With our deepest sympathy for you and your family, we wish you strength to endure this difficult period of your life. May he rest in peace and you find comfort in your good memories of him.
Love,
Azam & Hossein
Dr Jaleh Esmsili & family,
My deepest sympathies are with you and your family at this time of grieving.
Dear Jaleh;
Please accept our deepest sympathy. Words can not describe the loss we are feeling now. We will never forget the beautiful memories of our dear friend.
Our thoughts and prayers are with your family during this difficult time. I will forever be greatful for Dr Esmaili helping me through the death of my daughter. This community lost a great man and doctor…
It is hard to find the words that express our deepest and heartfelt sympathy for you in this time of such loss! Please know that we care! Persian Community has lost a great man. Our most sincere condolences to the Esmaili Family and the Persian community!
To the family of Dr. Esmaili,
The doctor was a great man and we shall remember him forever. He was our doctor for all the years he was at the clinic here. He was so patient and understanding and always had time to close the door and talk personally to everyone. Your family has our deepest sympathy. We know how much you all meant to him.
My children and I had the honor of being blessed with his medical services a number of times. Each time we walked out with a smile because of his quick wit and sense of humor. He helped to heal our bodies and our hearts. (God Bless you and Thank you Dr. Esmaili)! From: Linda Russell and family
Our thoughts and prayers to all of you. We considered him not only as our Doctor but our friend. He was a great asset to our community and will be sadly missed.
Dear Family of Dr. Esmaili,
It is very sad and hard to believe that Dr. Esmaili passed away. I am so sorry on your lost. Dr. Esmaili was a really nice person and unique poet.
Please accept my sympathy. God bless him.
Dear Jaleh, Saran, Rana and Neda:
My most sincere condolences!! Dr. Esmaili was a fantastic human being and wonderful poet and friend. His passing has been a shock to the poetry community. He is greatly missed. mariam
Dear Jaleh, Saran Rana Nada,
When I heard Dr. passed I cried for just a bit then I smiled because he was a strong man with a great soul and always made us smile at work. He taught me so much and evevrytime I see a rose i will think of him saying "Those aren’t real just smell them come to my garden to smell real roses" I will miss his smile and the twinkle in his eye when he was about to tell on of his stories. He will never be far away I’m sure he is up there looking down on you girls that he was soo proud of and his beautiful wife and grandchildren.My thoughts and Prayers
Jaleh and girls,
I had the pleasure to work with Doctor years ago at the clinic and enjoyed his sense of humor and teasing nature. I remember his first big fish caught by Machovic bridge(a catfish), when he bought his red BMW (I’ll still have this in 20 years" he said, which is well past that), , how he loved his wife and girls and then the grandchildren – always asking me about my kids when I saw him but then beaming when talking about his (he loved Skype). No amount of words will ease your pain, but do know that Adams-Friendship is a better place because of him. He will be deeply missed, but his spirit will live on in all whom he touched here – and that is many. I will pray for peace in your hearts.
Please accept our most heartfelt sympathies. Our thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time. We will cherish and honor the memory of Dr. Esmaili forever.
I treasure the times when doc would make me some tea, talk about our patients and our families, and offer some insightful advice about this and that. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. Besides the tea, I will mostly remember his positive attitute, his flower garden, the parrot dvd, and his kindness. My sincere condolences to his family.
My dearest Jaleh, Sarah, Rana and Neda;
We all have lost ‘one’ who was equal to more than one ‘thousand.’
Mohammad was an amazing embodiment of art of living, loving and caring, a beautifully put together gift of art, poetry, literature, intellectual wisdom, insight and sense of humor. I will miss him, and the joy and fun of being at his company.
He will live as long as roses continue to bloom.
Dear Jaleh and family;
Dr. Esmaili, by his pureness and his warm heart planted the seed of love in our hearts. By his words and poems brightened our mind and became a part of the heart and soul of each individual he touched. We loved him profoundly and it is with our deepest sorrow to even acknowledge the loss of such a great friend. This is a huge loss for the community.
We will miss his good sense of humor, his smiles, his story telling, and his poem reciting. We will cherish these good memories for ever. He will always be in our hearts and thoughts. Please accept our deepest sympathy and condolences.
Dear Jaleh and Family Iam so sorry on your loss.He was agreat person.We have many memoris.We will always remember the smile. His good memoris naver be taken from us we missed him. please accept our deepst sympathies
Dear Jaleh,I’m so sorry on your loss.My sympathy to your family,he will be greatly missed.
Parvaneh Rafiee
Dear Esmaili family,
My husband passed away in march and dr was the most caring man,I have ever known. He will never be forgoten by the many he touched.
Dear Esmaili family,
I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. It was a blessing to have known him.
Dear Jaleh, Sarah, Ranah, and Neda;
We will always remember the smile on his face,
The twinkle in his eyes that spoke volumes to us.
He always made time to talk of things that meant so much, family, friends, and such.
These things can never be taken from us, so deep in our hearts. So special to us.
He made the world brighter for all of us. He shall be greatly missed.
Please accept our most heartfelt sympathies for your loss.
Sorry to hear of your loss of your husband and father. Whenever I visited the clinic he always talked about the girls and how proud he was of all of you and what was going on at school. Thinking of you all !
My deepest condolences to the Esmaili family over the loss of your beloved husband and father. It was always such a pleasure be around him. I have many fond memories, but mostly I will miss his clever humor and the sound of his infectious laughter. May his memory live on through the smiles and joy he brought to those around him.
Ranah, I’m so sorry about your loss your dad was a great person and I will miss see him around. He will be missed.
Dear Esmaili Family,
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of you. Dr. Esmaili was a wonderful man and a dear friend. He has brought so many memories to the people in the community and will never be forgotten. Thank you for your friendship Dr. Esmaili and family!
Our thoughts & prayers are with the family of Dr. Esmaili. He was our family Dr. for many years he will be greatly missed by us & the community.
Our Dear Friends(like family) Jaleh, Sara ,Rana , Nada:
We barely want to say: "We’re Sooo Sorry for Your Loss",….for in so saying doing………… is like Acknowledging …it has Happened..and we just don’t want it to be So!!..but our hearts go out to you in Love and Saddnes…. on the Loss of you Husband and Father…and our Great Friend.!!!
He gave so much of himself to others, with his Wonderful, Joyful. Personality…and you left his presence. Happier than, before you had crossed his
path!
He will forever be in our fondest memories
and Always with you in your Hearts…We love you All!!! Rahm and Mary Simani
He was a mentor to many of us EMT’s and was never affraid to teach us what we needed to know for patient care.He taught us compassion and caring for both patient and family He was one hell of a doctor and taught me so much he will be dearly missed
Thanks for all you did DOC
Terry Scheel
I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Your dad was a wonderful doctor and gentleman. You are all in my prayers. He will be greatly missed.
God Bless you Doctor Esmaili, You will be remembered forever by my family. Nott only as a Doctor but a wonderful Friend. You kept me going for 33 years and also my Family. Save a spot up in Heaven for me.. With all your beautiful roses. Our Father chose you to be with him to help doctor up there. Our condolences to your beautiful family God Bless you all…
Many knew him as Dr. Esmaili or Doc, and very few of us called him Daee (uncle in Farsi.) He was our one and only Daee. He was like a father for us, and has a very special place in our heart. He was the pillar of the family, and a guiding light to many. I cherish the memories, and I am honored and privileged to call him my Daee.
Ranah and family, Doc was a great man and made our exchange students feel like part of your family all our exchange kids remembered the roses. He will be missed by many. hold each other close and his memories closer.
Remembering a pillar of the community for many Adams County families including our own.
To The Family of Our Dear Doc,
Doc took excellent care of my Dad for several years. He became his friend. My father had diabestes, and later I would be diagnosed as well. Doc always made us laugh. Even in very serious medical situations, he held our hand and offered gentle words, not just from a physician, but as a man. We will miss him and always remember the love he gave to our community. God Bless you All.
To the family of Dr Esmaili,
We are so sorry to hear about your loss. He was such a great person and he will truly be missed by everyone. He was such a special individual very kind and caring. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
We are truly sorry to hear the loss of Dr.Emaili,your Dad,his sense of humor and gentle smile will be greatly missed by us and this community.
Jaleh, Neda, Sarah, and Ranah, Dr. Esmaili will be greatly missed. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to work with him for so many years, and to enjoy his jokes and laugh with him. He will ALWAYS be remembered. Thoughts and prayers to you.
Neda & family…I am so sorry to hear of this sad news. Thoughts and prayers go out to you all at this sad time. Memories are going to help you through this!
Neda,
I am truly sorry for your loss. Your dad was a great man and will be missed. I will be praying for you and your family.
Neda,
I am so sorry for your loss. Your father was a great man and a great asset to our community. He will truly be missed. And I know from a visit with him while taking a client to an appointment with him, that he was extremely proud of you. You are in my thoughts and prayers. <3
Jaleh and girls,
My deepest sympathy to your family in this time of sadness. I had a privelege to work with Dr. Esmaili for several years, and found his dry sense of humor to be quite entertaining. He was a great doctor and always asked how my children were doing. He will be missed. Myrna Riegle Diemert
Neda and family:
SO sorry to hear of your loss! Your father always was such a happy man! He raised wonderful bright successful children and u all should cling to your happiest memories at this difficult time! Hugs, thoughts and my prayers are with u and yours!
Neda,
I’m so sorry to hear of the loss of your father. I know anytime I saw him he had a smile on his face. Thinking of you and your family during this sad time.
My heartfelt sympathy to your family, Jaleh, and remembering the years we shared at the Clinic,and the hospital. It is with heartfelt sadness,I share in your loss.
As with all of us that have had the cancer journey, we continue to pray for a cure.
Dear Jaleh,
Am sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you, Sarah, Ranah and Neda.
I am so sorry for your loss.He was a great doctor,I for one will miss him as I was one of his patients.May God be with in this time of need.
Dr. Jahel and girls,
What I remember most about Dr. Esmaili is his sense of humor. He always had some gentle "smart-alecky"remark to make to us in Medical Records to see if he would get a reaction…..and he usually did. He was a gentle man and a fine doctor. He will be missed. May God bless his memory.
Jaleh, Sarah,Ranah and Neda,
I’m so sorry on your loss. I was honored to work with Dr.M Esmaili. I enjoyed his humor and skills as a doctor. His roses were beautiful. As you hold each other, share his memory and let his love for his family comfort you.
Jaleh and girls-while working those many years with Dr. Esmaili, you were always met with a smile. He was a great doctor and friend, and will be missed by everyone.
My thoughts and prayers are with you. I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Esmaili and enjoyed his sense of humor and his pictures of his roses.
Jaleh and girls, my thoughts are with you at this time of great sadness. I have many great memories of happy times shared when we worked at the hospital. Dr. Esmaili always had a kind word to say; asking about the children and caring. Take care and know that we care.
Dr.Esmalli was Randy and my doctor for many years. He delivered 2 of my children. He took his job very serious. So sad that we lost a great doctor. Well Dr. Esmalli Randy was diagnosed with cancer when you retired and he passed on in July so now you both meet again in a beautiful place. My thoughts go out to his wife as I know what you are going through as I lost my husband in July and still hurts and to the girls you lost a wonderful father. My prayers are with all of you’s. He will never be forgotten.
Dr. Smiley as he was known, was my Doctor for many years and will be remembered as so nice, helpful, and always smiling. Thought and Prayers go out to Dr. Esmaili’s family.
My thoughts are with your family, it was a privilege to work with Dr. Esmaili!
Jaleh and Family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.
Jaleh and Girls. My thoughts and prayers continue to be with all of you.
Dr. M. Esmaili has been a big part of my life, both as my Dr., but more than that, he was my friend for years. I will miss him dearly. He will always be in my heart.
He will be greatly missed. A special Dr. and a wonderful person.
Words can not express all that he contribute to the world.
(We are the ones that gave you the Amish clock). Don and Karen Rathke
To the family of Dr. Esmaili:
Our prayers and thoughts are with you in these times of mourning. I always appreciated his quick smile and thoughtful discussions regarding the girls and school activities. It is difficult to lose a valuable member of our community, I hope you can appreciate how much he gave to all of us at Adams-Friendship.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Dr. Esmaili. He was our Mother’s favorite Dr.and he was with her when she passed away. (Irma Babcock) I also took care of his children at the Day
Care Center. He will be missed