Ehab Yamini didn't need his eyes to attend to the never-ending list of well-known political figures, business titans and preachers he had as clients. His hands and his ears helped him see what his eyes could not, the inner struggles and the knotted muscles of some of the most recognizable names in Atlanta.
Blind since he was 6, Mr. Yamini had a massage room at the former Downtown Athletic Club in the CNN Center. It was there that he worked his magic, said the Rev. Timothy Flemming, pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church.
"I called him the man with the healing hands," Rev. Flemming said. "He had a gift. It was like he knew the stress that pastors went through. He knew exactly what to do. He touched you like he was concerned about your health."
For more than 20 years Mr. Yamini worked on clients downtown before moving to a health club in Atlantic Station. He had to retire in February, when his body began to succumb to the stress of personal issues — including the sudden death of one of his 17 children — and cancer, said Sabrina Yamini, his wife of more than 31 years.
Ehab Raghib Yamini, of Atlanta, died July 25 at home, from complications of prostate cancer. He was 68. A service was held Saturday at Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam and his body was buried in Sandersville, near his hometown of Midville. Young Funeral Home, Atlanta, was in charge.
Twice divorced, Mr. Yamini met his last wife while pursuing a degree in psychology at what is now Atlanta Metropolitan College. The two married within months and had 12 children together.
Born Paul Lawrence Osgood, Mr. Yamini converted to Islam in the early 1970s. The name he assumed at his conversion, Ehab, fit him completely, his wife said
"His name means 'bestower,'" Mrs. Yamini said. "He was a giver. If he wasn't physically giving, he was giving mentally, giving knowledge."
He also bestowed the gift of silence, if that was what the occasion called for, Rev. Flemming said.
"He was the seeingest blind man I've ever seen," the pastor said. "He had insight and foresight. He could see people, within people. He could see more than most I've ever known."
In addition to his wife, Mr. Yamini is survived by 16 children, Sameerah Yamini of Atlanta, Nadiyah Yamini Broughton of Decatur, Ehab Yamini Jr. of Atlanta, Esaa Yamini of San Antonio, Texas, Bilal Yamini of Orlando, Fla., and Khadijah Yamini, Hanan Yamini, Sajda Yamini, Umar Yamini, Aishah Yamini, Salahuddin Yamini, Ruby Clara Yamini, Aliyah Yamini, Mohammed Yamini, Ibrahim Yamini and Ameenah Yamini all of Atlanta; mother, Ruby Osgood of Sandersonville; nine siblings, Mary Bradshaw of Fayetteville, Pa., Robert Osgood Jr. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., John Osgood of Atlanta, Dorothy Osgood of North Augusta, S.C., Pearl Artison of Decatur, Moses Osgood of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Herman Osgood of Augusta, Harold Osgood of Decatur and Yolanda Abrams of Augusta; and 12 grandchildren.
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