Bahá’í World/Volume 30/Obituaries

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Obituaries

Doris Ballard

On 2 May 2001, in Alexandria, Virginia, the United States. Doris Copeland was born 26 January 1914 in Vernon, Texas. She became a Baháʼí in 1949 and from that time dedicated much of her energy to spreading the Baháʼí teachings. Pursuing her desire to teach the Faith, she traveled to South Africa in 1954 and lived in various countries in southern Africa for 15 years. Her service on Baháʼí institutions included membership on Local Spiritual Assemblies in South Africa and the United States, on administrative committees in the United Kingdom, and on the National Spiritual Assembly of Zambia. It was as a member of that Assembly that she served as a delegate to the International Baháʼí Convention in Haifa in 1968. She returned to Haifa in 1974 to work at the Baháʼí World Centre and remained there for five years. She married Irving Ballard in the 19405, but the two later divorced. Professionally, she worked for the US civil service in a number of different positions, including a period With the American consul general in Johannesburg. Later in her life she returned to the United States, where she stayed until her passing. After her death, the Universal House of Justice wrote of the “indelible traces” she left on the development of the Baháʼí Faith through her teaching efforts.

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Giovanni Ballerio

On 15 December 2001, in Geneva, Switzerland. Giovanni Ballerio, born in Asmara, Eritrea, on 15 February 1943, became a Baháʼí in Eritrea in 1971 and began his Baháʼí service on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Asmara. For the remainder of his life, he served the Baháʼí Faith in many capacities, including as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Italy and as a representative of the Baháʼí International Community’s Office at the United Nations in Geneva from 1981 to 2001. He also undertook, in 1998, a four—month-long mission on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to meet with heads of state and prominent individuals throughout the Pacific islands. During his early years, he worked as a junior high school teacher but eventually retired from this to give his efforts fully to the Faith, first on the NSA of Italy, in 1979, and then for the BIC’s United Nations Office. He also served on Local Spiritual Assemblies in Italy, where he moved in 1978, and Switzerland, where he lived from 1981 until his death. His landmark work with the Baháʼí International Community included developing a working relationship between the BIC and the World Health Organization, and establishing a permanent BIC representation to the United Nations in Geneva. Shortly after his passing, in March 2002, a plaque recognizing his achievements with the BIC was dedicated by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, recognizing “his outstanding work to promote gender equality, for serving with devotion the Committee, and helping individual members without distinction and beyond the call of duty.” He is survived by his wife, Gail Madjzoub, and by three children from a previous marriage.

Donald Barrett

On 22 August 2001, in Edmund, Oklahoma, the United States. Donald Barrett was born in Berkeley, California, in 1927 and became a Baháʼí in 1951. He married Barbara Jewkes in 1949 and the couple had two children. Along with his family, he was active in spreading the Baháʼí teachings throughout many countries in South America and assisted in the formation of many Local and National Spiritual Assemblies while pioneering to Colombia, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela during the 19505, and Ecuador in the 19705. In 1978–79 he was appointed to the Auxiliary Board in the United States. Most notable of all his services, perhaps, was Mr. Barrett’s work as the Secretary-General of the Baháʼí International Community, which the Universal House ofJustice described as “indefatigable service.” His law degree and experience in practicing international law were particularly useful during that period, when he was called upon to negotiate the official status of the Baháʼí World Centre With the Israeli government in 1987. After returning to the United States, he eventually

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settled in Oklahoma, teaching English at the University of Oklahoma, volunteering his English—teaching skills to Iranian Baháʼí immigrants in the community, and serving on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Edmund.

Palle Bischoff

On 24 January 2002, in Horsholm, Denmark. Palle Bischoff was born in Humlebaek, Denmark, on 16 April 1925. His contributions to the Baháʼí Faith centered on his activities in his own and in other European countries and as a Deputy Trustee of Huququ’llah in Denmark. In 1951, four years after joining the Baháʼí Faith, Mr. Bischoff moved to Greenland, where he became one of the first Baháʼí to settle in that country. Despite having a degree in commercial science, he began his career in Greenland as a fisherman, later working as a manager in a fishing station, and then opening a ski school. Returning to Denmark in 1954, he worked for various companies before establishing his own consulting firm with the Agricultural Council of Denmark in 1989. He and his wife, Ingegerd Saxlund, whom he married in 1960, raised three children. The couple offered their mountain residence in Norway as a venue for Baháʼí classes and summer schools. Mr. Bischoff was a member of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Copenhagen and the Regional Assembly of Scandinavia and Finland from 1957 until 1963, when he was elected to Denmark’s first National Spiritual Assembly. He served either on that body or as an Auxiliary Board member from 1963 to 2000 and also, from 1964 to 1998, as a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Sollerod, Denmark. In its message after his passing, the Universal House of Justice recalled his “outstanding services” that “earned him an imperishable place in the annals of the Danish Baháʼí community.”

Shirin Boman

On 12 February 2002, in Indore, India. Shirin Irani was born 6 October 1911 in Mumbai, India, and became a Baháʼí at a young age. Her more than six decades of service to the Baháʼí community included membership on the National Spiritual Assembly of India from 1953 until her appointment to the Continental Board of Counsellors in Asia in 1968. She married Behram Boman Mehrbani in 1926 and the couple had six children. Her husband died in 1963. Mrs. Boman lived in many cities in India, serving as a homefront pioneer to Ujjain and Gwalior, and also undertook trips to other countries, including Bangladesh, Canada, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and the United States, to spread the Baháʼí teachings. Many people in India learned of the Faith through her efforts, and she initiated many large—scale teaching campaigns in the country: Her services to the Faith also included acting as a companion and interpreter to ‘Amatu’l—Baha Ruhihi’yyih Khanum during the latter’s travels in India, Nepal, and Sikkim

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in 1964. After Mrs. Boman’s death, the Universal House of Justice wrote that her efforts to promote the Baháʼí Faith were “inspiring” and that she had “enriched the annals of the Indian Baháʼí community.” It also requested that a memorial gathering be held in her honor at the House of Worship in New Delhi and in other parts of India.

Gertrude Eisenberg

On 8 September 2001, in Duarte, California, United States. Gertrude “Trudy” Eisenberg was born 13 June 1906 in Sag Harbor, New York. She learned of the Faith as an adult and was inspired to travel to share its teachings. In 1953, she was named a Knight of Baha’u’llah by Shoghi Effendi in recognition of her arrival as the first Baha’i in the Canary Islands. Her other travels included trips to Brazil, Guatemala, Paraguay, and the Hawaiian Islands. In its message after her passing, the Universal House of Justice praised her “courage and steadfastness,” which it said would “inspire generations to come.”

Rashid Gulov

On 23 October 2001, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Born in Tugarak, Vose Region, Tajikistan, in 1971, Rashid Gulov became a member of the Baha’i Faith in 1995. He served as a pioneer to Georgia in 1997—98 and then as a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Dushanbe, the National Teaching Committee, and the Training Institute in Tajikistan. Mr. Gulov was killed while returning home from work—the victim of an element in the country that sought to harm the Baha’i’s and the Baha’i community. Because of this, the Universal House of Justice deemed his death as martyrdom. He is survived by his Wife, Parvina Murodova, whom he married in 1994. The murder of Mr. Gulov was followed only two months later by the death of another Baha’i in Dushanbe, which, in turn, came two years after the killing of ‘Abdu’llah Mogharrabi in the same city.

Philip Hainsworth

On 16 December 2001, in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. Philip Hainsworth was born on 27 July 1919 in Bradford, Yorkshire. He became a Baha’i in 1938, when there were fewer than 100 Baha’is in the UK, and from that time on dedicated his life to service of the Faith, first bringing the Faith to Cities in England and Northern Ireland and assisting in the formation of many Local Spiritual Assemblies. Mr. Hainsworth served in the Royal Army Medical Corps of the British Army in World War II, fulfilling his

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duty to his country while abstaining from combat because of his Faith. Then in 1951, responding to the request of Shoghi Effendi that Baha’fs arise to teach the Faith, Mr. Hainsworth traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda in Africa. He was named as a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh by virtue of his being among the first group of Baha’is to travel to Uganda, and Shoghi Effendi referred to him as “the spiritual Stanley of Africa.” In 1956 he married Lois Houchin and the couple had three children. He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Central and East Africa from 1956 to 1966 and served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles for a total of 32 years, both before and after his African trips. His other efforts included authoring several books about the Faith, including coauthoring The Baháʼí Faith, which became a standard text in some schools, and editing the collection of Shoghi Effendi’s letters to the Baha’is of the UK, Unfolding Destiny. Shortly before his death he returned to Uganda for the 50th anniversary celebration of the Baha’i community there. After his passing, the Universal House of Justice recalled his “staunch perseverance” and “indefatigable efforts” and asked that memorial gatherings be held throughout the United Kingdom and Uganda.

Philip Harvey

On 13 April 2002, in Harare, Zimbabwe. Philip Desmond Harvey was born in London, England, on 4 August 1927. He served in the Royal Navy as an aircraft technician and later focused his career on avionics and electrical engineering. He learned of the Faith while in the military and became a Baha’i in 1952, after which he began to concentrate his energies on service to the Baha’i Faith. He met his wife~to~be, Pary Vahid—Tehrani, in 1953 and the two married later that year—the first Anglo—Persian marriage in the British Baha’i community. The couple had one son. In 1966, the family moved to South Africa, and so began more than 36 years of pioneer service in South West Africa (later Namibia), Swaziland, and Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe). Mr. Harvey was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Swaziland, Lesotho, and Mozambique during his time in Swaziland and was also honored by King Sobhuza II for his work in assisting with the country’s independence celebrations. The family moved to Rhodesia in 1971, where Mr. Harvey became the manager of the Air Zimbabwe Technical Training School and later served on the government’s aviation regulatory body. After his death, the Universal House of Justice wrote that his “distinguished” services in Africa would be “long remembered.”

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Abbas Katirai

On 3 May 2001, in Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Mr. Katirai was born on 5 May 1923 in Hamadan, Iran, to Baha’i parents. He married Rezvanieh Alizadeh in 1947, with whom he had three children, and in 1953 the family pioneered to Japan, seeking to assist in the development of the Baha’i community there. His services included membership on the National Spiritual Assembly of Japan from 1965 to 1988 and on the Continental Boards of Counsellors of Asia from 1990 to 2000. In 1958, he donated the land for the first Baha’i cemetery in Japan, in Ashiya, the place where he was finally laid to rest. After spending time between Iran and Japan, he moved with his family in 1990 to the Sakhalin Islands. There, he and his wife spent five years helping to establish the first Baha’i communities in that region, an act for which they were named Knights of Baha’u’llah. Among his numerous other services were representing the Universal House of Justice at the formation of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Armenia and helping to establish the first National Spiritual Assembly of Georgia. After his passing, the Universal House of Justice urged that memorial gatherings be held in his honor at the House ofWorship in New Delhi, India, as well as in Armenia, Georgia, and Russia, in recognition of his contributions to the development of those national Baha’i communities.

Cornelius Khonou

On 9 April 2002, in Ga Rankuwa, South Africa. Cornelius Christopher Khonou was born 27 October 1929 near Bleskop, Rustenberg, South Africa. He became a Baha’i in 1957 and that same year married Paulina Huma, with whom he had seven children. Elected as one of the founding members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Luka, South Africa, he went on to serve as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of South and West Africa for five years, the National Spiritual Assembly of Bophuthatswana for 12 years, and the National Spiritual Assembly of South Africa for seven years. Mr. Khonou worked in education, beginning as a primary school teacher and eventually becoming a principal before earning a post as Inspector of Adult Education. He traveled to many towns and Villages within South Africa in his efforts to teach the Baha’i Faith and also served as the Deputy Trustee of Huqt’iqu’llah of South Africa beginning in 2000.

Patricia Locke

On 20 October 2001, in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Patricia Ann McGillis was born on 21 January 1928 in Idaho, of Hunkpapa Lakota and White Earth Chippewa heritage. Her native name was Tawacin Waste Win, which means “she has a good consciousness, compassionate woman.”

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She worked in education for most of her life, teaching at all levels from elementary school to university, and was actively involved in promoting native practices and languages. In 1978, she was instrumental in lobbying for the American Indian Religious Freedom Act and soon after was appointed as cochair of a US government Task Force on Indian Education Policy. Ms. Locke also helped to organize 17 tribal colleges on native reservations in the United States, served on the National Indian Education Association and numerous other advisory boards for education, human rights, and environmental issues, and acted as chair of the Indigenous Woman’s Caucus at the 1995 UN Women’s Conference in Beijing. She was much in demand as a lecturer and is recognized as one of the most influential Native Americans of the twentieth century. She had two children from a 23-year marriage and became a Baha’i at age 63, taught by her son. Elected to the National Spiritual Assembly just two years later, she served on that body until her death. The Universal House of Justice praised her “outstanding endeavors as an educator and administrator” who championed the needs of America’s native peoples.

Zylpha Mapp-Robinson

On 12 May 2001, in New York City, New York, United States. Zylpha O. Mapp was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 25 August 1914 and was raised in a Baha’i family. The message from the Baha’i World Centre after her death recalled her “spirit of selfless devotion” in her service to the Baha’i Faith, which was notable in her extensive travels to teach the Faith. She lived for more than 20 years in Uganda, where she pioneered in 1970, having previously served on Baha’i institutions in both the United States and Canada. Elected as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Uganda in 1976, she also served on several Local Spiritual Assemblies and on various national Baha’i committees. Her professional training was as an educator, having earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in education. She applied her training to helping humanity, developing health and nutrition projects in India and Burkina Faso, authoring handbooks on development and education, and assisting in the creation of Baha’i training institute programs in Uganda. Another of her significant services in Uganda was as secretary to Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga. She undertook trips to many countries in Africa to spread the Baha’i teachings and also traveled in Asia and the Caribbean region. Her husband, Robert Robinson, died in 1994. She is survived by one daughter. After her passing, a message from the Baha’i World Centre requested that a memorial gathering be held for her in the House of Worship in Uganda.

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Elena Marsella

On 13 March 2002, in Kailua, Hawaii, the United States. Elena Maria Marsella was born in August 1913 in Providence, Rhode Island. She became a Baha’i in 1939 and in 1945 began her travels to promote the Faith and its interests, going first to the Dominican Republic. She lived primarily in the Caribbean, Micronesia, and Polynesia, and in 1954 she and her husband, Roy Fernie, were named Knights of Baha’u’llah when they moved to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (now known as Kiribati and Tuvalu), as they were the first Baha’is in that region. She served on a variety of Baha’i institutions, including the National Spiritual Assembly for Central America and the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands. She later relocated to Asia and was appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors for Northeastern Asia in 1973, a post she occupied until 1980. She pursued several careers in her life, working as a teacher, a member of the Foreign Service, and a pianist. After her passing the Universal House of justice lauded her “enrichment of Baha’i literature through her scholarly endeavors,” which included authoring the book The Quest for Eden, an praised her “ardent commitment to the promotion” of the Baha’i Faith.

Afshin Shokoufeh Mosadegh

On 3 December 2001, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Born in Rasht, Iran, on 23 September 1968, Afshin Shokoufeh Mosadegh was only 33 years old when he gave his life as a Baha’i martyr. He was shot outside his home in Dushanbe and died en route to the hospital. The government’s inquiry into the murder determined that he was killed by a member of a fanatical element in the country that wished to harm the Baha’is. A Baha’i for 10 years, Mr. Mosadegh was actively involved in advancing the Baha’i community in Tajikistan and served several terms as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly and the Local Spiritual Assembly of Dushanbe. He is survived by his wife, Soheilah Mehrabhani, whom he married in 1991, and two children. His tragic death followed the murder, under similar circumstances, of Rashid Gulov the previous October and the killing of ‘Abdu’llah Mogharrabi in 1999, all in Dushanbe.

Qudratu’lláh Rawhání

On 30 September 2001, in Gaborone, Botswana. Qudratu’lláh Rawhání was born in 1922 and was living in India when he arose in 1954 to pioneer to the Island of Mahé, in the Seychelle Islands, an act for which he was

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named a Knight of Baháʼu’lláh by Shoghi Effendi. In 1993 he moved to Botswana to live with his daughter, who survives him, as does a son in Chile. After his passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote, “His services in the Indian subcontinent and in Africa are remembered With loving appreciation.”