Funeral services were held Wednesday for NIU marketing professor Askari Kizilbash, who died last week after battling cancer.

Kizilbash, known as a tough teacher among his colleagues and as a wonderful husband and father by his family, is survived by his wife, Daina Kizilbash of DeKalb.

“He always wanted to do the best he could for his family,” Daina Kizilbash said. The couple had two children, Jeffery of Schaumburg and Lia of Naperville. The professor also had a sister, Shireen Moosvi of Aligarh, India and a brother, Hamid Kizilbash of Washington, D.C.

Though he retired three years ago, Kizilbash continued to teach a marketing strategy capstone course at NIU. He began teaching at NIU in September of 1971.

“He was a very good friend and colleague in the department,” said Christine Stakal, academic adviser and internship coordinator for the marketing department.

“I know alumni are going to be very saddened to hear about him,” Stakal said.

Kizilbash taught the executive master’s of business administration program at NIU and received numerous awards for excellence in teaching.

Current students may not know about Kizilbash, since he retired several years ago. However, former students remember his tutelage.

“He had alumni come back just to see him,” marketing professor Jay Wagle said.

Kizilbash was tough on his students and is remembered fondly, Wagle said.

“His students talked about how good he was,” Wagle said.

Though his colleagues called him a private man, Kizilbash loved to travel with his family.

“We always took trips as a family,” Daina Kizilbash said. “We took our first family trip when our son was three years old.”

She said they visited Europe and Pakistan, where his extended family now lives. Kizilbash was born in India, but his family eventually emigrated to Pakistan.

Within the last few years, Kizilbash and his daughter visited his home country for a two-week vacation.

“She always wanted to go with her dad,” Daina Kizilbash said.

The NIU marketing department is looking into establishing a scholarship fund in remembrance of Kizilbash.