Bahá’í World/Volume 25/Obituaries

Bahá’í World/Volume 25 Obituaries

Proofread once

[Page 305]

Abbas Afnan

On 10 May 1996, in the United Kingdom. Raised in Shiraz, Iran, Abbas Afnan came from an illustrious Bahá’í family: both his father and mother were descendants of uncles of the Báb. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tehran in 1949, following which he pursued postgraduate medical studies in both Switzerland and France. He married Shomais Ala’i in the early 1950s. Dr. Afnan’s early services to the Bahá’í community included assisting the development and invigoration of the Bahá’í community of Yazd, which was under pressure from fanatical elements. In March 1954, Dr. Afnan joined his wife at their pioneer post in Ethiopia, where he worked in several hospitals, training medical students in a United Nations’ project in Gondar. In 1958, the Afnans went to England in order for Dr. Afnan to study preventive medicine and public health. At the request of the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles they remained in England as "homefront" pioneers, moving to Burnley in 1960 and later to Norfolk. He served as a member of the National Assembly of the British Isles, and later of the United Kingdom, for 12 years. In 1975, the Afnans moved to Canada, settling in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, but returned to England in 1988, and then moved to Ljubljana, in the former Yugoslavia. Eventually, Dr. Afnan was invited to lecture on the Bahá’í Faith for the comparative religion course in the University of Ljubljana. After some time, a decline in his health necessitated their return to England, where he passed away. [Page 306]

Hushang Ahdieh

On 6 February 1997 in Canada. Born in Hamadan, Iran, into a Bahá’í family in August 1929, Hushang Ahdich graduated in 1954 from the dental faculty of Tehran University. In 1955, he departed for Asmara, Eritrea, where he lived for 23 years. He married Nahid Ettehadieh and together they raised two children. Dr. Ahdich was elected as a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Asmara from 1956 through the 1960s, and he also served for many years on the Regional Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa. In 1978, the Ahdiehs moved to the Central African Republic, where they lived for many years. He was appointed a member of the Auxiliary Board in 1968 and served in that capacity until 1973, when he was appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors in Central and East Africa, and later to the Board of Counsellors in Africa, serving as the trustee of its funds for over 20 years. In 1987, he was also appointed by the Trustee of Huqúqu’lláh, Hand of the Cause Dr. ‘Ali-Muḥammad Varqá, to be the Deputy of Huqúqu’lláh for Central and East Africa, a duty which he carried out until 1996.

Chahabedine ‘Alá’í

On 4 November 1996 in France. Born in 1911 in Tehran, Iran, Mr. ‘Alá’í was raised in a Bahá’í family. He received his diploma from the School of Agriculture in Tehran in 1930, and that same year he moved to France to continue his studies and to promote the development of the Bahá’í Faith. Mr. ‘Alá’í returned to Iran in 1936, living in various towns in the provinces until 1952. During that time he attained a position as the Director-General of that country’s sugar factories and donated a school to one of the towns. He spent 1952 in France, pursuing another diploma, and returned to Iran in 1953, where he worked as an Advisory Engineer for France and bought and installed a sugar factory in the south. By 1954 he was back in France, where in 1958 he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of France at its inaugural convention. He married Arlette Barbanson that same year. Mr. ‘Alá’í served on that National Assembly for many years. He was the director of the House of Iran in Paris from 1966 to 1980 and in 1975 he was given the medal of the "Légion d’honneur" of Iran. He and Mrs. ‘Alá’í raised one daughter.

Sergio Resende Couto

On 26 July 1996 in Brazil. Born in Aracajú, Sergipe, Brazil, on 8 May 1942, Mr. Couto became a Bahá’i at the age of 15. In February 1962, he and another Bahá’í youth took the Bahá’í teachings to the Indian villages in the northeast of Brazil for the first time. He married Ann Brew in 1970 and they moved to Rio de Janeiro, where they participated in Brazil’s first efforts to teach the Bahá’í Faith to large numbers of people. Mr. Couto served as a member of the Auxiliary Board and in 1975 moved to the Bahá’í institute in Bahia, where he coordinated highly successful large-scale efforts to teach others about the Bahá’í Faith, [Page 307]

OBITUARIES

while also translating Bahá’í literature into Portuguese and developing new materials to help others gain a deeper knowledge of the Bahá’í teachings. His efforts earned him renown as the "father" of Brazil's training institutes. Mr. Couto was a psychotherapist by profession, dedicating his life to helping those dependent on drugs or with family or marital problems. He and his wife raised one daughter.

Tove Deleuran On 16 December 1996, in France. The only child of Protestant parents, Tove Larsen was born and raised in Denmark. She graduated from an academy of fine arts and began her career in the film industry as the first woman in Denmark to do animated drawing. Later she worked for a fashion designer. In 1944 she married Jean Pierre Louis Deleuran and together they raised one daughter. After the Deleurans became Bahá’ís, Mrs. Deleuran started the first Danish Bahá’í children's class. They participated in the formation of the first Local Assembly in Denmark in 1949. In December 1953 they pioneered to Majorca in the Belearic Islands and were designated Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for their efforts. They assisted in the formation of the first Local Assembly of Majorca in 1956. Mrs. Deleuran was among the first Auxiliary Board members appointed in Europe and traveled all over Spain and Portugal in the path of her service. In 1957 the Deleurans moved to Dhaka (Bangladesh) in what was then Pakistan to promote the Bahá’í Faith, and Mrs. Deleuran engaged in a very active career as a painter, mural designer, decorator, and art teacher. She was the first woman to become a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Pakistan. After returning to Denmark, she served on the National Spiritual Assembly and on various committees and started evening courses for adults on comparative religion, moving with her family 18 times to different places to serve the needs of the Danish Bahá’í community. Mrs. Deleuran passed away in France, where she and her husband had eventually moved due to health considerations.

David M. Earl On 23 August 1996, in the United States. Born in 1911 in Missouri, in the United States, David Earl spent his youth in Punjab, India, where his father was employed. He graduated from college in the United States and married Joy Hill in 1933. In 1938, he enrolled in the Bahá’í Faith and actively served on Local Assemblies and regional committees. The Earls pioneered to Japan in 1952, assisting with some of the early translations of Bahá’í texts into Japanese. From 1958 to 1964 he was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Northeast Asia. Dr. Earl served on the faculties of two universities in Japan while pursuing his doctorate in Far Eastern Studies, which he earned in 1957. From 1963 to 1965 the Earls pioneered to Korea where Dr. Earl was a member of the National Assembly for a year. Through his position as head of the University of Maryland's program in [Page 308]Korea, he was able to travel and serve in Asia, Europe, and North America. In 1965, due to Mrs. Earl's ill health, the family returned to Michigan in the United States, where Dr. Earl served on Local Assemblies and was appointed to other committees. Five years after Joy Earl's death in 1972, Dr. Earl responded to an appeal for pioneers to the Pacific islands and set out for Palau, in the Caroline Islands. He was elected to the new National Spiritual Assembly of the Caroline Islands in 1978 and moved to Guam in 1979, where he served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Mariana Islands from 1980 until his appointment to the Auxiliary Board in 1982. In June 1986 Dr. Earl returned to the United States due to his weakened health.

Wanita George

On 22 March 1997 in the United States. Edith Wanita Montgomery was born 30 June 1906 in Kansas, U.S.A. She married Lynn Craig George in 1930. Professionally, she earned a master's degree in child psychology and worked as a school teacher in Redondo Beach, California, for some twenty years. The Georges divorced before she became a Bahá’í in 1957. In 1959 she left her teaching job and pioneered to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with her daughter Maralynn, where she worked for many years at the American school. She was a member of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Honduras, serving on that body for a number of years. Together with Maralynn, she held weekly Bahá’í meetings in her home, providing a center for community activity in the city. Mrs. George had a special love for the Indians of Honduras, particularly the Jicaque tribe, and she traveled indefatigably, often by horse or mule, to the most remote corners of the country to teach the people the Bahá’í Faith. In spite of the fact that her health was permanently impaired from injuries she received during an airplane crash while en route to the International Bahá’í Convention in 1968, and her family's urging that she live a more comfortable life in California, Mrs. George returned to Honduras in 1969, where she continued to serve the community to the extent of her strength. In 1986 ill health forced her to return to California, where she passed away.

Elena Hernandez Tartabú

On 22 July 1996 in Venezuela. Born 17 February 1928, Elena Hernandez became a Bahá’í in 1961, earning distinction as the first Bahá’í of her native Margarita Island. Her efforts to share the Bahá’í Faith with others have born the fruit of several Local Spiritual Assemblies on the Island.

Hector Alexander (Lex) Meerburg

On 9 July 1996 in the Netherlands. Lex Meerburg became a Bahá’í in 1954, two years after his wife, Elly. The Meerburgs were designated Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for pioneering to Dutch New Guinea (now a province of Indonesia), where they lived for several years. After their return to the Netherlands they both served as members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Amsterdam before settling in Zaanstad. The Meerburgs raised one daughter. [Page 309]

Jeffrey Mondschein

On 8 December 1996 in Israel. Jeffrey Mondschein was born in the United States on 9 February 1952. He graduated with honors from Amherst College in 1974 and in 1977 earned his master's degree in business administration with distinction at New York University. In 1982, he married Pamela Mathers. Over the years, Mr. Mondschein held various financial management positions and also served as a Trustee of the Wilmette Housing Commission. He was elected to the Local Spiritual Assemblies of West- port, Connecticut, and Wilmette, Illinois. Placing his expertise at the disposal of the Bahá’i community, he served as a financial consultant for the National Assembly of the United States from 1987 to 1992, and as the Chief Financial Officer at the Bahá’í World Centre from 1992 until his death. At the time of his passing he was also an Alumni Admissions Advisor for Amherst College and a member of the Union League Club of Chicago, Illinois. The Mondscheins have two children.

Julia Nodada

On 2 September 1996 in South Africa. Born in Dangwane, Transkei, South Africa, Mrs. Nodada became a Bahá’í in the late 1960s. Despite her isolation and the difficulties she faced in learning more about the Bahá’í Faith because there were no Bahá’ís living near her, she remained stead- fast in her belief. Eventually, through her efforts, a Local Assembly was formed in Dangwane, after which the Bahá’í message was taken to other communities nearby. She rendered services as a translator and served as a member of the National Spiritual As- sembly of Transkei from 1980 until 1992, when the Transkei area was placed under the jurisdiction of the National Assembly of South Africa.

Fritz Semle

On 2 May 1996 in Switzerland. Born 27 October 1896 in Nürnberg, Ger- many, Friedrich Semle trained as a pastry chef in his youth, but his life was changed by the outbreak of World War I. Though the Semle family was living in Switzerland at that time, Mr. Semle was still a Ger- man citizen and was conscripted into the German army at the age of 19. His experience of the brutality of combat and four years as a prisoner of war convinced him of the need for universal peace. Around 1920 he discovered the Bahá’í Faith while on a visit to Germany and enrolled almost immediately, becoming upon his return to Switzerland the first Bahá’í living in the German-speak- ing region of that country. He took a job as the manager of a toy factory and in 1924 married Ella Itin, who also became a Bahá’i. By 1943 there was a small group of Bahá’ís in Switzerland. He was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Italy and Switzerland upon its formation in 1953 and to that of Switzerland when it was first elected in 1962. The Semles had two children and also raised a foster daughter. Mrs. Semle passed away in 1967 and Mr. Semle married Lotti Häbig in 1970.

Mohamad Shaikhzadeh

On 31 October 1996 in Brazil. Born in Zavareh, Iran, on 23 March 1931, Muhammad Shaikhzadeh lost both [Page 310]his parents when he was 9 years old, and his eldest sister raised him as a Bahá’í. As a young man he served as a "homefront" pioneer in Abadan, especially focusing on promoting Bahá’í youth activities. He studied chemical engineering at university and began working in a petroleum company after his graduation. In 1960, the Shaikhzadeh family moved to Brazil as pioneers, settling in the state of São Paulo, where Mr. Shaikhzadeh lived for the rest of his life. In 1961 the Shaikhzadehs moved from São Caetano do Sul to Santo Andre, where Mr. Shaikhzadeh was elected to the first Local Spiritual Assembly, serving on that institution until his death. He also served for periods of time on the National Assembly of Brazil and its committees. In 1984, with the establishment of the Soltanieh Bahá’í Educational Center, Mr. Shaikhzadeh rendered distinguished services in fostering its growth, organization, and in coordinating programs.

Velma L. Sherrill

On 17 May 1996 in the United States. Born in Wallace County, Kansas, in the United States, on 27 June 1911, Velma Sherrill graduated from high school at the age of 15. She moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where she embraced the Bahá’í Faith around 1935. From 1953 to 1963 Mrs. Sherrill served as secretary of the National Teaching Committee. She and her husband, Lloyd, helped form the first Spiritual Assembly in Webster Groves, Missouri, in 1957. Appointed to the Auxiliary Board in 1957 and elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States in 1961, she served on both institutions until 1964, when she resigned from the National Spiritual Assembly to continue serving as an Auxiliary Board member. Named in 1967 as executive assistant to Hand of the Cause of God Dhikru’lláh Khádem, Mrs. Sherrill was appointed a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Americas in 1973, a position she held until 1985. During the last 10 years of her life she was an enthusiastic supporter of the St. Louis Dialogue Group of the World's Religions and Philosophies.

Richard T. Suhm

On 7 September 1996 in the United States. Born 17 April 1926 in the United States, Richard Suhm was five years old when his parents accepted the Bahá’í Faith; his was one of the first Bahá’í families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin for a year but was then inducted into the army, serving as a medical technician in the Philippines and in Korea. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1951 with a degree in economics and finance, after which he obtained a job with the Standard Register Company. In 1952, Mr. Suhm married Mary Louise Kelsey and the two moved to Whitefish Bay when they learned that two more Bahá’ís were needed there in order to form a Local Spiritual Assembly. In 1954, the Suhms pioneered to Tangier, Morocco, arriving shortly before Riḍván with their three-month-old son. Mr. and Mrs. Suhm thus became Knights of Bahá’u’lláh and with seven other pioneers were [Page 311]able to form the first Local Spiritual Assembly in the country. After some time, Mrs. Suhm contracted polio and the family returned to the United States in 1956, settling in Hackensack, New Jersey, where they were able to form a Local Assembly. Later they moved to the town of Ramapo, New York, where, after many years of patient effort, a Local Assembly was formed in that town as well. Mr. Suhm moved to Texas in the 1970s and eventually settled in Dallas. From 1992 to 1996 he served on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Chapter of the United Nations Association, which created a Bahá’í chair especially for him, although no other religions were represented.

The Suhms raised three children.

Marc Towers

On 29 April 1996 in the United States. Born 23 January 1927 in New York, Marc Towers attended Columbia University in his youth to study writing and acting. In 1955, he moved to Southern California to pursue his acting career, where he enrolled in the Bahá’í community in August 1958. During his life as a Bahá’í he served on various Local Spiritual Assemblies and avidly shared the Bahá’í message with others. In 1962 the Hands of the Cause of God appointed him an Auxiliary Board member. He was asked to travel to Hawaii to assist in the formation of that National Spiritual Assembly and he eventually moved to Honolulu, where he was able to obtain employment at a local radio station. While based in Hawaii, Mr. Towers made many trips to the other islands and island groups in the Pacific, including Fiji, the Mariana Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands. At the request of Hand of the Cause of God Collis Featherstone, he relocated to Sydney, Australia, in 1967, but in 1969 he developed a respiratory illness and had to return to California. In 1979, Mr. Towers and his wife, Florence, moved to the United States Virgin Islands; he served on that National Spiritual Assembly for 13 years. They moved back to the continental United States in 1994.

Wilhelmina Willems

On 13 May 1996 in Chile. Born in Canada on 4 December 1906, Wilhelmina Hird was still a child when she arrived with her parents in Punta Arenas, Chile, where she lived for most of her life. She pursued studies in the arts in England as a young woman, married, and bore three children, whom she was left to raise alone upon her husband's early death. She became a Bahá’í in 1945, and over the years her home was open for Bahá’í meetings and was a constant center of activity. One of the first Bahá’ís in Punta Arenas, Mrs. Willems labored unceasingly to ensure that the Local Spiritual Assembly in that community never lapsed, even though, as a port community, its residents were often only living there temporarily. In 1992 she moved to Santiago to be with her son, and from 1993 to 1996 she lived in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to be near her grandchildren, but in early 1996 she returned to Chile where she passed away.