MIAMI | A remarkable man who did remarkable things: That is how family members and friends remembered Anthony Abraham, a Lebanese-American businessman and Miami philanthropist who lived to be 100.

Abraham was best known for his ownership of Anthony Abraham Chevrolet on S.W. Eighth Street and Le Jeune Road, and for the full-page, color ads the dealership would buy in local newspapers on religious and patriotic holidays. But he and his wife Genevieve also were known as generous donors to Miami archdiocesan charities such as Camillus House, to the Maronite Catholic Church here and in his parents� native Lebanon, and to St. Jude Children�s Research Hospital.

On Feb. 25, the 102nd anniversary of his birth, four of his five adopted children, their children, lifelong friends and members of both the Cuban and American associations of the Order of Malta joined in prayer at Epiphany Church to remember Abraham and present him with a posthumous honor: The Order Pro Merito Melitensi, one of the highest honors granted by the Order of Malta, where Abraham had been a Knight of Magestral Grace.

�It�s reserved, really, for people who have done remarkable things, so it isn�t something that is given lightly or something that is so numerous,� said Jack Pohrer, president of the American Association of the Order of Malta, who traveled to Miami for the presentation.

�From the villages in Lebanon to Haiti and throughout the U.S., the Abrahams have donated time, talent and treasure to the needy of every race and creed,� said Ray Kayal, who first met Abraham back in 1959, when he interviewed him for a marketing class he was taking at the University of Miami.

At the time, Kayal was dating the woman who would become his wife, Loraine, whose parents were best friends with the Abrahams. A few years later, Anthony Abraham would be Ray Kayal�s sponsor into the Order of Malta.

�In Arabic tradition you always call your parents� best friends aunt and uncle out of respect,� Loraine Kayal said. �I have always referred to them with much love as aunt and uncle.�

Genevieve Abraham also was the godmother of the Kayals� daughter.

�He left behind a legacy of a life well-lived,� said Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who celebrated the Mass along with Chorbishop Michael Thomas, vicar general of the Maronite Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, Msgr. Jude O�Doherty, pastor of Epiphany Parish, and Father Patrick O�Neill, longtime director of the Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs for the archdiocese.

Chorbishop Thomas served as pastor of Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Miami, which the Abrahams attended. He now serves as pastor of Heart of Jesus Maronite Church in Fort Lauderdale. The Abrahams also were generous contributors to Epiphany Parish.

In his homily, Archbishop Wenski called Abraham �a good man, a family man and yes, even a holy man� who left his mark as a father and husband, as an American proud of his cultural heritage, as a Catholic devoted to his parents� Maronite tradition, as a businessman and as a philanthropist.

Although they have passed on, Anthony and Genevieve continue their generosity through the Abraham Foundation, which recently gave $50,000 to the archdiocese: $25,000 to the Marian Center School for the developmentally disabled; and $25,000 to purchase iPads for the students at St. John Vianney Seminary in Miami.

As Ray Kayal put it: �He made his time on earth really matter.� Anthony and Genevieve Abraham�s legacy, he said, �will never be forgotten. Theirs is the gift that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving, and giving.�