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Obituary: Yussuf Gursey, peace activist & scholar

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Killed Peace Activist’s Memory Kept Alive

New Haven Independent

by JABEZ CHOI	| Jul 16, 2024 9:07 am

At a memorial service for 70-year-old local peace activist Yusuf
Gürsey, friends and colleagues joined in person and over Zoom from all
over the world?—?California, Puerto Rico, Turkey?—?to share stories
and poems for the hit-and-run victim.

All knew him as a lover of languages, a beach fanatic, and a seemingly
shy but loyal friend who had a fierce commitment to the liberation of
all oppressed people.

That memorial service was held at the New Haven Peoples Center at 37
Howe St. Sunday afternoon.

Gürsey was struck by a car on the night of April 28 in the area of
Whalley Avenue and Brownell Street, as he walked home after attending
a pro-Palestinian rally and march downtown earlier in the day. 

A photo on display at Sunday’s memorial service showed how he held a
CT Community Party sign that read ?“Ceasefire Now” at the rally. He
had written his own message in black marker: ?“Liberate Gaza.” 

He would die in the hospital early the next morning. 

Gürsey’s friend of over 20 years and fellow activist Jim Pandaru
recollected years of conversations about world history, a pastime that
many in the room shared with Gürsey. 

“His vast knowledge never ceased to amaze me,” Pandaru said. ?“He was
a true scholar and comrade in every sense of the word.”

Gürsey was born in Turkey, Feb. 15, 1954, to a family of
scientists?—?both his award-winning father Fenz and his mother Suha
Pamir taught and researched physics at Yale. Gürsey himself graduated
with a PhD in applied physics from Brown. 

In New Haven, Gürsey was active in several peace and justice
organizations including the Communist Party, the Greater New Haven
Peace Council, New Haven Rising, the City of New Haven Peace
Commission, and the Ward 24 Democratic Committee. He was an avid
reader, historian, translator, and linguist, as described by his
friends. He’d often grab friends to rush with him into restaurants or
cafés whose owners spoke languages he was fascinated with. 

Pandaru remembered the night Gürsey passed away?—?he was right by his
side at Yale New Haven Hospital. After a neurosurgeon had called him
after Gürsey was struck and transported to the hospital, Pandaru
rushed to his bedside. 

“I held his hand and reassured him that he had a great team of doctors
working on him and that I wouldn’t leave him alone until he pulled out
of this,” Pandaru said. ?“At approximately 4:30 in the morning, Yusuf
passed away peacefully, and I was still holding his hand.”

According to New Haven Police Department spokesperson Officer
Christian Bruckhart, the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have
been made yet.

Bill Doares met Gürsey when he was in kindergarten and Gürsey in first
grade. It was Gürsey’s family that introduced Doares to Turkish
culture, society, and language, which ultimately led to a fascination
with the Middle East. The interest would later manifest between the
two friends in a shared solidarity with the people of Palestine. 

Gürsey was described as always holding a sign at rallies, always
handing out fliers at vigils and conferences. He often gave webinars
at the Bay Area’s Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library.

“Like a river, there are many tributaries. And a river keeps swelling
in all different directions. That river will come onto the sea and the
future for which he dedicated his life will be born,” Doares said.
?“We will live in a world free of war and exploitation, in a socialist
world.”

Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton spoke, with tears in her eyes,
describing Gürsey as a ?“humble” and ?“quiet” man. Hamilton emphasized
that behind this persona, was a loyal and knowledgeable man, who was
?“always present” in his community. The last time Hamilton remembered
seeing Gürsey was at a sermon before the protest rally in April. 

At one of her last community meetings with Gürsey, Hamilton noted that
he mentioned street safety. Now, Hamilton said that she intends to try
to rename the corner of Whalley and Brownell after Gürsey. 

“Good spirits live on,” Hamilton said. ?“They transcend time and space
and lives and resurrect to other good spirits.”

Source:
<https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/memorial_service_for_yusuf_gursey>

 


-- 
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web:  http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

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Obituary: Yussuf Gursey, peace activist & scholar Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2025-08-05 04:52 +0200
  Re: Obituary: Yussuf Gursey, peace activist & scholar lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> - 2025-08-04 23:23 -0600
    Re: Obituary: Yussuf Gursey, peace activist & scholar Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2025-08-07 03:03 +0200
      Re: Obituary: Yussuf Gursey, peace activist & scholar lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> - 2025-08-06 22:05 -0600

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