Wilson B. Bishai

Dr. Wilson B. Bishai, an Arabic lecturer at Harvard for almost 30 years, died Aug 1 of kidney failure in his Maryland home. He was 85.

Dr. Bishai was born in Egypt and came to the United States in 1951. He went to Washington Missionary College and then Adventist Seminary, both in Maryland. He finished his education at Johns Hopkins University, where he graduated in 1959 with a PhD in Oriental studies.

Dr. Bishai went on to teach at the National Security Agency and at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

He then moved to the Boston area, where he became an Arabic lecturer at Harvard in 1966. Besides his wife, Elizabeth, he leaves two sons, William and David, both of Baltimore; a daughter, Linda of Washington D.C.; a brother, Yousef of Grosse Point Farms, Mich.; and six grandchildren.

Services have been held.