CONDOLENCES - The Passing Away Of Şeref Yıldız

A long-standing member of our Board of Trustees, Şeref Yıldız recently passed away peacefully, after a period of illness. We at the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture pray for God's Mercy and Compassion to descend on him as well as for his family.

Mr Yildiz was born in 1941 from among a large family of 7 other siblings, as was traditionally customary in Turkey in that time. His father, Selahattin Yildiz, a highly respected, honest and charitable tradesman from the Black Sea town of Rize spent many years offering three of his sons guidance and advice on how to best practice business and trade.

In 1954 Mr Yildiz made a huge self-sacrifice and effort by moving to Istanbul where he exhibited and earned a reputation of great honesty and nobel ethics as a tradesman. It was here that Şeref Yildiz and his father together offered a great service towards the nations' economy through their principled ventures in a broad range of sectors - from cosmetics and food to the construction industry. As a result of these enterprises, Şeref was involved in both the employment, training and education of many of the nations' youth and his established companies (such as the Tibet Production Works) provided work opportunities for thousands of people.

A married man and a father of four children, Şeref Yildiz said that "I have dedicated my life to humanity" and thus along with his father established the Sultans Education And Culture Foundation with the slogan "My wish - More service to others, more provision of work and food to those in need". 

Perhaps the main and most fundamental aim in his life was to invest his wealth towards the cultivation and development of a morally conscious youth, towards a modern civilized nation inculcated with values of religious freedom, moral consciousness, education and industriousness.