Mostafa Kamal Hamdy

Dr. Mostafa Kamal Hamdy, known to his friends as M.K., died peacefully in his sleep at home on January 28, 2013 after a very brief illness. He is survived by his son David Hamdy, daughter Kathy Hamdy-Swink, son-in-law Mike Swink, Jr., brother Mahmoud Hamdy, sister Laila Rouchdy, brother-in law Wafa Rouchdy and several nephews.
Born May 27, 1921 in Cairo, Egypt, to the late Hamed Hamdy and Nefisa Sultan Hamdy, Mostafa immigrated to the United States in 1950 to further his education. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Ohio State where he met his beloved late wife, Kathryn Anne Hamdy, and married her on May 29, 1954. In 1958, he began his research and teaching career at the Food Science Department at the University of Georgia in Athens. His highly honored and award winning research and patents are in the fields of bio-energy, rapid fermentation, botulism, radio-isotopes, converting PCB's to biodegradable substances as well as many others innovative ways training bacteria to do good work for mankind. He was known in 1982 as the Professor who invented Instant Beer and his fermentation classes in the food science department were very popular. Mostafa traveled the globe speaking, presenting research papers and accepting numerous international awards. He was a tough professor, yet those who excelled under his guidance, as lab assistants or graduate students, went on to highly esteemed careers in medicine and science. Dr. Hamdy served 21 years as the Sr. Science Advisor for the Food and Drug Administration in Atlanta and Washington, DC. As a UGA Professor Emeritus, he never fully retired. He loved his work and when he passed away he was excitedly awaiting replies on bio-energy research grant proposals and developing new ones.
Upon arriving in Athens, Mostafa never missed cheering on the Bulldogs at home football games nor hardly ever missed an opportunity to very loudly let refs know exactly how he felt about 'blown' calls. His love for cheering on the Dawgs between The Hedges was what motivated him successfully fighting stomach cancer at 84 and colon cancer at age 73. He never looked his age and, to the amazement of many, easily climbed up and down Stegeman Coliseum stairs at age 91.5 to cheer on UGA basketball or gymnastics teams. He attributed his good health and fitness to his 'younger days' playing a very competitive game of handball at Stegeman Coliseum every day at lunch for 50 years. Elbows and knees padded - he'd eagerly take on young athletic players only to have them walk away in defeat. As a young adult he enjoyed rowing on the Nile River and climbing The Great Pyramid. When Life Magazine published an aerial photograph his initials were clearly visible on the very top. He enjoyed playing chess, cooking Shish-ka-bobs, collecting stamps, and was fluent in four languages. Starting in 1976, weekend life would find him repairing his farm fences and checking on his small herd of Black Angus cows including his favorite cow 002. If you believe all his stories, like the one proven about climbing the pyramid, he'd tell you about sharing a hospital room with the late Anwar Sadat and giving Omar Sheriff a very black eye.
The family will receive visitors on Thursday January 31st from 6-8pm at Lord and Stephens Funeral Homes in the Bogart Chapel West. Funeral Services will be Friday February 1st at St. James United Methodist Church in Athens at 2PM with a Burial service at Oconee Hill Cemetery in Athens immediately following. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations for the Cemetery Fund at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, 2227 Diamond Hill-Neese Rd., Hull, GA 30646.