Khadija Akbar Gerace

Khadija Akbar Gerace, 84, of St. George, Utah, passed away peacefully at home after a long illness on October 2, 2026. She was surrounded by her husband, son and daughter at her bedside. Khadija was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her father was Jafar Akbar, a famous doctor in Afghanistan, and her mother was Sadiqa Anwar. Khadija was the eldest of six siblings.

Khadija had a happy childhood and eventually became a doctor herself. She worked tirelessly for the poor of her country. She rose through the ranks and was sent to numerous medical conferences around the world which strengthened her medical knowledge. Khadija helped deliver hundreds of babies during her medical career and eventually was appointed the head of a clinic in Darulaman, Kabul.

In 1977, she met her future husband, Joseph, in an English class and was married in 1979 in N. Delhi, India due to the violence in Afghanistan, and moved to the USA with her husband where she had two children, a son in 1979 and a daughter in 1980. In 1983, Khadija became a naturalized US citizen.

The husband’s job took Khadija and the family to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. During this period, she traveled the world and saw many interesting places, as well as making many friends. Eventually Joe and Khadija moved back to the USA in 2003, living in Virginia Beach, visited Australia in 2004 where Khadija trained to become a certified personal trainer, then made their way to Tualatin, Oregon where she lived for 17 years. During that period, Khadija worked as a personal trainer in Beaverton, Oregon at LA Fitness, where she was well loved and respected. In 2023, Khadija and Joe moved to St. George, Utah.

Khadija had a great gift for knitting, especially sweaters; moreover, she was an excellent cross- stitcher and produced timeless art which hangs on our walls. Khadija was an amazing cook, never using recipes, creating by scratch. She loved to work out in the gym and enjoyed studying training techniques.

Khadija is survived by her husband, Joseph Gerace, of 47 years and 8 months, her son, Alexander Gerace of Portland, Oregon, and her daughter, Laila Gerace, of Salt Lake City. She is also survived by brothers Hakim Akbar and Ismael Akbar of Australia, Rahim Akbar and Jamila Akbar Hassan of California, an aunt, Shahnaz in N. Carolina, numerous nieces and nephews and cousins: Wajmakay, Waleed, Ali, Wali, Khalil, Wahida, David, Bobby, Gina and others too numerous to mention.