Nezahat Sehitoglu, 87, born in Istanbul on November 16, 1924. She was born to the late Zihni and Sidika Demirag. She died on May 9th, 2012 at the Renewal Center at Meadowbrook, Urbana with her family by her side. She was a resident of Windsor of Savoy.

Mrs. Sehitoglu was a graduate of Robert College, Istanbul, 1945. She (born Nezahat Demirag) was the athlete of the year at her graduation. She attended Notre Dame de Sion French High School of Istanbul; she was fluent in French and English in addition to her native Turkish. She married the late Saban Taskin Sehitoglu in 1950.

She lived independently in Istanbul from the time of her husband's death (1980) until she moved to Los Angeles in 1998. She loved to travel, especially to beaches in Southern Turkey and was a patron of the Music Conservatory in Istanbul. She enjoyed the reunion parties with close friends from Robert College, her alma mater. She believed in the importance of education and foreign language training and sent her sons to international schools. She joined them in United States years later.

Surviving are her beloved sons Mr. Murat Sehitoglu (Linda) of Pacific Palisades, California, Prof. Huseyin Sehitoglu (Sarah McEvoy) of Urbana, Illinois, and five grand children: Hulya, Isabella, Taskin, Teoman and Sinan.

Messages of condolence may be sent to the family at 805 W.Michigan, Urbana, Illinois, 61801 (no flowers please). A celebration of Nezahat's life will be held at a later date. Renner-Wikoff Chapel, 1900 S. Philo Rd., Urbana, IL, is in charge of arrangements.