Adnan AbouAmmo Homicide: Family Opens GoFundMe

A Wenatchee Valley father, husband, grandfather, soccer advocate, longtime entrepreneur, and well-known community member was killed earlier this week in what police are calling a homicide.

The family of 68-year-old Adnan AbouAmmo launched a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs, legal fees, and living expenses.

"He was taken from us before his time, leaving our family without a father, grandfather, and husband," the GoFundMe reads. "Any contributions would be unbelievably helpful and greatly appreciated."

From Lebanon to the United States

AbouAmmo grew up in Lebanon, where there was ongoing civil unrest. One day, he took a stray bullet to the shoulder as a civilian living in the war zone. At 19, his family pooled together just enough money for a one-way ticket to the U.S. He landed at an unknown airport with $100 in his pocket and an Arabic-English Dictionary.

Photo Courtesy of the AbouAmmo Family

He managed to tell an airport worker that he was heading to Seattle. The worker advised him that he might find more support in Texas, where the Dallas-Fort Worth area had a significant Lebanese community. So Adnan changed his ticket.

Family, Values, and Community Impact

He enrolled at the University of Texas at Arlington, earning a bachelor's in Fine Arts and Architecture. To support himself, he tried working as a busboy - but only lasted one day.

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After spilling water on a high-profile diner, he was fired but offered a piece of cake as consolation. According to his family, he ate it as slowly as possible in the restaurant in quiet, humorous defiance. They said he always had a dry sense of humor.

Photo Courtesy of the AbouAmmo Family

Above all, his family remembers him as generous, loving, and entirely without judgment. "Family is the most important thing," AbouAmmo often told them.

Two of his children now live in Ellensburg. If they needed help with a project, they said he would drop everything and drive over immediately. That went for all of his family.

"Sometimes he'd forget his drill, make a joke about it, and drive back over an hour to go get it and come back," One of his daughters said. "He'd never complain."

Building a Business and a Community

Adnan's work ethic defined him. After losing his restaurant job, he drove a taxi, eventually saving enough to open an international food store in the Dallas-Fort Worth area while still in college. After graduation, he helped design a mosque that was later built.

Eventually, he and his three children moved to Wenatchee, where he got a job with an architecture firm and met his wife. They later had four more children together. When the firm's owner died, leaving him unemployed, AbouAmmo found himself at the unemployment office in 1991.

Photo Courtesy of the AbouAmmo Family

The clerk mentioned a new transit system in Wenatchee - LinkTransit - was starting up. He told the clerk, "I don't even have a Washington Driver's License," but he got one and became one of the first coach operators in Link Transit history.

AbouAmmo worked for Link as a driver and supervisor for a total of 10 years. His family said that during that time, he fell in love with buses. He founded a charter bus company and ran it for five years.

Most recently, AbouAmmo served as the executive director of TranCare, a state-funded nonprofit providing non-emergency medical transportation to people lacking reliable access to appointments.

A Legacy in Youth Soccer

AbouAmmo was also deeply connected to soccer. Growing up in Lebanon, he always supported his home country in the World Cup. When they were eliminated, he would root for the underdog. His family said he was ecstatic when Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in 2022. AbouAmmo's favorite player was Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.

Photo Courtesy of the AbouAmmo Family

But Adnan didn't just love the sport - he helped it grow locally. In 2012, AbouAmmo co-founded Wenatchee United, a youth soccer club, because he saw there was no affordable access to soccer for youth in the Wenatchee Valley. He also coached the club for a number of years. In 2018, he and his wife became part owners of NCW Alliance FC, a semi-professional women's soccer team, which competes in the Northwest Premier League.

AbouAmmo also taught "Introduction to Islam" at Wenatchee Valley College in 2008.

AbouAmmo leaves behind his wife and nine children, two grandchildren, and a community that adored him.

You can click on this link to contribute to the GoFundMe.

Syracuse Soccer wins NCCA Championship in Epic Title Game (PICS)

The Syracuse men’s soccer team took on the Indiana Hoosiers Monday in the NCAA championship match at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. And what a game it was! The Orange outlasted the Hoosiers after nearly two hours of gameplay followed by eight rounds of penalty kicks winning by a final score of 7-6. It was an unbelievable ending to an improbable season as this year's soccer team was picked to finish near the bottom of the ACC - let alone compete for a title. See the images below from the epic title game that saw the SU Orange win their first NCAA title in the program's 102-year history.

Gallery Credit: Brian Cody TSM Albany