Student obituary
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Published: Friday, March 9, 2012
Updated: Friday, March 9, 2012 02:03
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Shwan Kassim Alkhatib died unexpectedly in New York City, on March 2, 2012, while attending to his brother Weesam, who is undergoing chemo therapy. He is survived by his parents Kassim and Sorkel Alkhatib of Woodland, Calif.; his brother Weesam of Palo Alto, Calif.; as well as his sisters Aveen of London, Canada and Cheen of Dallas, Texas.
Shwan was a 2004 graduate of Manhattan High School, where he was also a four-year letter winner on the tennis team. Following high school, Shwan went on to K-State and graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 2009. Soon after, Shwan pursued a master's in electrical engineering, also at K-State. However, as family comes first, Shwan put graduate school on hold over the last six months to take care of his brother Weesam. Shwan had recently been inspired, like his brother, to become a doctor.
Shwan loved his family, K-State sports, tennis, airports and making people laugh. To many K-State supporters and Big XII fans, Shwan was known as "fatty" or "fatty4ksu" from his writing and Youtube videos online. He was also widely known for his wit and the videos he created, which have been watched by thousands of people and truly captured the essence of what it means to love K-State. Shwan was always a fan of the "underdog" and it was only natural that he fell in love with the K-State community as they did with him. To Shwan, K-State was a school full of his kind of people: hard-working, friendly, caring and most importantly, compassionate. In the days since Shwan's passing, the response from K-State fans has been overwhelming.
Shwan always seemed to find the best in others and would let them know it; this was Shwan's way to make their day and consequently his, too. That's what Shwan did, he brought out the best in people, if they knew it or not, and it was truly a gift. His enthusiasm and joy was infectious and will be missed not only in the K-State family, but also around the world. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, people contribute to a memorial project dedicated to his brother's treatment. Family really was first to Shwan, and that's what he would have wanted. Online donations are being collected at goEMAW.com/fatty.html. Cards or checks can be mailed to Dickinson County Bank, P.O. Box 217, Enterprise, Kan., 67441. Checks can be made payable to: Shwan "Fatty" Alkhatib Memorial Fund.