Ras Al Khaimah: A 100-year-old Emirati, Rashid Ahmed Rashid Al Zamhari Al Shimaili, has died, family members have confirmed.
Al Shimaili, born in 1923, died peacefully on his bed at home in the Shamal area of Ras Al Khaimah, they said. He is said to have died of natural causes.
Al Shimaili’s second son Saeed said yesterday that the family will miss his humour, tales of the desert from yesteryears and his nightly gatherings with relatives.
“We are very sad,” he told Gulf News from the family home.
Saeed said his father was born in Shamal and that his first house was in Wadi Haqeel, which is known for its mountain environment. “It was the first brick house in the region after the UAE was founded,” he said, noting that his father moved to another house in the same area later.
Al Shimaili, who lived through the Second World War, witnessed the UAE morph into a modern country.
He and his wife had three children - two boys and a girl - and a total of 46 grandchildren.
According to Saeed and the inhabitants of Shamal, Al Shimaili was known for his wisdom and his role in reconciling opposing parties.
Saeed said that his father lived a healthy life and enjoyed excellent health for many years before he contracted asthma and some other age-related diseases.
Al Shimaili used to work as a farmer in an orchard and cultivated a farm of his own, where he grew date palms and a variety of vegetables,
Saeed said when his father was a young man, he used to walk a lot and would journey from Shaml in Ras Al Khaimah to Dibba and from Shamal to Khasab in the Sultanate of Oman on foot.
He said that his father used to begin his day by waking up before dawn to perform prayers in the mosque, then go directly to his farm. He continued with this routine till 10 years ago.
Saeed pointed out that his father was satisfied only with natural food, which he was accustomed to having since he was a child. His produced much of the food he ate on in his farm and was very picky about what he bought from the market.
Dates were his favourite food but he also loved milk, yoghurt, bread prepared from Emirati mountain wheat and local meat.
A large number of people from across the UAE attended Al Shimaili’s funeral. They extended their condolences to the family and mourned the loss of a wise man.
