Bahá’í World/Volume 21/Obituaries
OBITUARIES
TÁHIRIH ‘ALÁ‘Í
On 26 September 1992, in France. Mrs. 'Alá‘í was born into a Bahá’í family in Persia in 1906. She married Mir 'Aynu‘d-Din ‘Alá'í in 1932, and together they went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1952. In response to Shoghi Effendi's call to the Bahá’ís at that time to take the teachings of the new Faith to countries where there were no Bahá’ís, the Alá'ís moved to Southern Rhodesia in 1953 For this they were designated Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, and spent many years serving the Bahá’í Faith in Africa. Ill health caused Mrs. ‘Alá'í to return to France in 1982.
VALERA FISHER ALLEN
On 9 April 1993, in Swaziland. Mrs. Allen was born In the United States in 1903, and became a Bahá’í in 1925. She married John
1. A designation given to individuals who took the Bahá’í Faith to virgin territories mentioned in Shoghi Effendi's ten year international teaching plan. (See also “The Second Bahá’í Holy Year”, page 95.)
William Allen at the beginning of the Great Depression in the United States, and they had three sons. In 1954, they answered Shoghi Effendi‘s call for the Bahá’ís to spread around the world by moving to Swaziland, and they were both named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. They lived there for the rest of their lives, serving as points of inspiration and unity for all who knew them.
G . A. AMRELIWALA
On 12 December 1992, in India. Mr. Amreliwala was bum in Bombay in 1905. He became a Bahá’í during the 1930s and sewed on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India from 1945 to 1967. At the end of the second World War, Mr. Amreliwala was one of the first Bahá’ís to travel to the Holy Land to meet with Shoghi Effendi. After his pilgrimage, he undertook an all-Indla tour to meet with the Bahá’ís in different communities to share with them messages from the Guardian. He was known for his love and generosity, and as a pillar of steadfastness.
EMMA CABEZAS
On 4 October 1992, in Chile. Mrs. Cabezas was born in Chile in 1895. She became a Bahá’í in 1947, and was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Chile in 1961. She was a stalwart supporter of the Faith. remaining in recent years as active as her health would permit.
RUTH SHOOK FENDELL
On 10 December 1992, in Costa Rica. Mrs. Fendell served the Bahá’í Faith in Latin America for more than 50 years, particularly in Colombia. Panama and Costa Rica. She designed and developed the formal gardens surrounding the first Bahá’í House of Worship in Latin America, located in Panama.
JOHN BIRKS “DIZZY" GILLESPIE
On 6 January 1993, in the United States. Mr. Gillespie was born In the United States in 1917. and was renowned for his virtuosity as a jazz trumpeter. During the 1940s he developed a jazz style known as bebop, which became world famous. He became a Bahá’í in 1968 and often spoke at public performances of his love for the Faith. He received numerous honors including the National Medal of Honor in the United States and the Kennedy Center Honor.
SVERRE HOLMSEN
In 9 October 1992, in Sweden. Mr. Holmsen was born in Sweden and was the well-known author of a great number of books. He became a Bahá’í in 1964 after deep study of
the Faith over a number of years. In 1969, he wrote the first introduction to the Bahá’í Faith in the Swedish language—De Upplysta Horisonterna (The Enlightened Horizons). He also wrote an introductory pamphlet on the Faith in Swedish which is still widely used.
HELEN HORNBY
On 17 October 1992, in the United States. Mrs. Hornby was born in the United States, and graduated from Roosevelt University in Chicago. She became a Bahá’í in that city, and worked for the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare. She took an early retirement to teach the Bahá’í Faith in Colombia, where she was married to Charles Hornby. They later moved to Ecuador. She is author of Heroes of God, a history of the Faith In Ecuador. She also edited and prepared Lights of Guidance, an important Bahá’í reference work.
DORIS MCKAY
On 30 November 1992, in Canada. A Bahá’í since 1925, along with her husband Willard, Mrs. McKay was a contemporary and co-worker of such prominent early North American believers as Louis Gregory, Dorothy Baker, May Maxwell, Horace Holley and Howard Colby Ives. She is known for having prepared a synopsis of The Dawnbreakers, which has been in use for more than 50 years. She was active in the early race amity work in the United States, and in the 1940s moved to Canada as a Bahá’í pioneer.
MOHAMED MUSA
In June 1992, in Somalia. Mr. Musa was one of the first Bahá’ís of Somalia and a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Mogadishu. Mr. Musa was known for his extraordinary courage in a difficult environment. His life ended tragically, when, while he was enroute to Kenya, seeking refuge from the troubles in Somalia, armed gunmen stopped the bus on which he was travelling and killed all the passengers.
LEA NYS
On 28 July 1992, in Belgium. Ms. Nys served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Belgium and was known for her international travels and meetings, as an emissary of the Faith, with Heads of State and other prominent persons, particularly in West Africa and the Caribbean. She often represented the Bahá’í 1nternational Community at United Nations conferences.
ALFRED OSBORNE
On 14 August 1992, in the United States. Born in Antigua, British West Indies, Mr. Osborne became one of the first Bahá’ís of Panama, embracing the religion in 1941. He served as a member of the Board of Counsellors2 in Central America from 1968 to 1980 while based in Panama.
2. High-ranking officer of the Bahá’í community responsible for the propagation and protection of the Bahá’í Faith at the continental level.
SHÁYISTIH RAFÍ'Í
On 15 July 1992, in the Canary Islands. Mrs. Rafí‘í was born in 1907 in Persia. She married a Bahá’í, ‘Alí Akbar Rafí‘í Rafsanjání, and finally became a Bahá’í herself 14 years later. In 1952. they visited the Holy Land where Shoghi Effendi encouraged them to leave Persia. [n 1953 they moved to Morocco with their youngest son, 'Abbás, and were all given the title of Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. They continued to serve the Faith in Morocco until Mr. Rafí‘í died there in 1965. Mrs. Rafí‘í then joined her daughter as a pioneer in the Canary Islands.
ANDREW ROBOMAN
On 20 July 1992, in Micronesia. Mr. Roboman was born on the island of Yap into the family which provided the traditional leaders of the society. He was Chief of the Council of Chiefs, the highest rank in the area. He became a Bahá’í in the early 1970s and always enjoyed visits from Bahá’ís for prayers and to keep him informed of the progress of the Faith throughout Micronesia and the world. Upon his passing he had a Bahá’í funeral, followed by a state funeral with full ceremonies as befitted his high rank.
ISOBEL SABRI
On 18 June 1992, in the United Kingdom. Mrs. Sabri was born in the United States in 1924. She became a Bahá’í in 1945, and in 1946 she settled In the United Kingdom as a Bahá’í teacher. In
1951. she married Hassan Sabri and. in response to a call from Shoghi Effendi, they went to East Africa almost immediately, serving Bahá’í interests with great distinction in Tanganyika, Uganda, and Kenya. She served on the Regional Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central and East Africa and was appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa in 1968. She was appointed in 1983 to the International Teaching Centre of which she remained a member until the time of her death.
ROAN ORLOFF STONE
On 1 January 1993 in the United States. Prominent internationally as a promoter of the synthetic language, Esperanto. A Bahá’í since 1933, she served as a member of the International Auxiliary Language Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States during the 1930s and 1940s, and subsequently became centrally involved in the work of Bahaa Esperanto-Liggo, the international organization of Bahá’í Esperantists. which she founded with eight other charter members, and served for many years as its secretary. She translated The Dawn-breakers into Esperanto.
CHELLIE J. SUNDRAM
On 22 February 1993, in Malaysia. Dr. Sundram was a distinguished physician who became a Bahá’í in 1958. He was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Malaysia in 1965 and was appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors in Asia from
1968 until 1988. He served as a consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO), and was known for his administrative acumen, his brilliant conceptualization, and his artistic talent.
ROXANNE TERREL
On 17 November 1992, in the United Kingdom. Mrs. Terrel was born in the United States during the second World War. She became a Bahá’í in California, and soon went to live in Taiwan where she served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly for 10 years. From Taiwan she moved to Macau, where she helped form the first National Assembly in 1989. She had a special love for the Chinese people which she shared with the Bahá’ís around the world as she travelled to inspire and to teach.
ROGER WHITE
On 10 April 1993, in Canada. Mr. White was born in Canada in 1929 and worked for a time as editor of Hansard, the daily record of debates of the Canadian Parliament's House of Commons. He became a Bahá’í in 1952, and served from 1966 to 1969 in Nairobi, Kenya, and then from 1969 to 1971 in Palm Springs, California, as secretary and research assistant to the Hand of the Cause of God and author, William Sears. From 1971 to 1991. he headed the Publishing Department at the Bahá’í World Centre in Israel. He was the author of four books of poetry and one novel.