Modesto, California -- Phillip Benjamin Malik, a visionary who left his native Iraq in the early 1950s and helped hundreds of Assyrian Christians to find the American dream in Stanislaus County, died Thursday. The Modesto man was 94.

"It was a major ordeal for him to come to this country by himself and leave behind his wife and five kids at the time," said Phillip Malik, one of two Malik children born in the United States and the youngest son. "It's not like coming from Europe to America. They were coming from a village in Iraq. He later helped others make the transition, which was very difficult. He was very unique -- extremely positive, very upbeat."

When Mr. Malik was born in the winter of 1915, his family was on the run from marauders who were killing Assyrian Christians, son Bob Malik said. Because of that, no one knew his exact birth date, although they celebrated it on Jan. 1 each year.

He had a cushy job in Iraq in the early 1950s as the manager of the British Officers Club in Baghdad, he told a Bee reporter in 2004. But as he looked toward the future, he believed life would get harder, and so emigrated to the United States in 1953. It was a bold decision, especially as his father and grandfather had been the leaders of their small village.

His early move proved wise -- life grew harsh in Iraq after the 1958 revolution, and by the 1990s, one-third of Iraq's Christian population had left because of persecution.

"He knew his sons would end up dying in some crazy war. That's why he gave it all up," said Bob Malik, news director for CBS radio in Los Angeles. "People said he was crazy. But he was an absolute visionary."

The elder Malik landed first in Chicago and found the winter weather brutal. He had decided to return to Iraq when a mentor, Phillip Paul of Turlock, invited him for a visit. When Mr. Malik arrived on a spring day in 1954, he told Paul on the drive from San Francisco to Turlock, "This must be paradise."

His family arrived here on Independence Day that year. For a long time, daughter Diane Pedota said, they believed their father had arranged the July Fourth fireworks in their honor. The family still enthusiastically celebrates the holiday.

Mr. Malik bought a 20-acre farm with a small house for his family, and later moved to a 40-acre farm in Ceres. When he first arrived, he worked as a janitor in Paul's Turlock motel. Later, he sold Airstream trailers, started a mobile-home dealership and branched out into real-estate development as well as farming.

His strong work ethic was notable, Phillip Malik said.

"The guy worked seven days a week, never took time off," he said. "He wasn't relying on others to survive. He didn't believe in bank loans. He paid cash for everything -- his house, his farm. He helped others all the time, paid college tuition for other families."

Helping others was his passion. He sponsored 67 extended family members to come to this country, and helped about 400 in all to emigrate.

"He would do anything to help a person who was willing to help themselves," Bob Malik said. "I had many people who came up to me over the years and said, 'Your father did this for me. Your father did that.' We never knew about it; he never mentioned any of that to us. That's just the kind of person he was."

Life was not all paradise for the Maliks. Two children died early -- Gina Marie, also born in this country, died of leukemia before her second birthday. Don Malik, the oldest son, died at age 29 when he drowned in Don Pedro Reservoir trying to retrieve someone's jacket.

Mr. Malik was married to wife Maria for 65 years until her death in 2006.

He is survived by two daughters, Diane Pedota and Linda Glynn of Modesto; three sons, Ron Malik of Modesto, Bob Malik of Los Angeles and Phillip Malik Jr. of San Francisco; eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 1813 Oakdale Road, Modesto, followed by burial at Turlock Memorial Park. Franklin & Downs is in charge of arrangements.

By Sue Nowicki
www.modbee.com