Bahá’í World/Volume 31/Obituaries

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[Page 267]

Obituaries

THOMAS R. BAUMGARTNER JR.

On 15 February 2003, in McMinnville, Oregon, the United States.

Thomas Baumgartner was born on 12 April 1922 in Kansas City, Kansas. He first learned of the Faith in his teens in Miami, Florida, and after becoming a Bahá’í in 1940, at the age of 18, he went on to live a life of distinguished service. He was initially active in the Miami Bahá’í community, was elected to the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Dade County, Florida, and later to the first Assembly in North Dade County. In 1958, he departed with his wife Dorothy and their five sons for Alaska, one of the goal regions of the Ten Year Crusade. Undeterred by the harsh conditions, they made their first home in the North Pole region. The family ultimately lived in some 14 different locales, including native villages, where they taught the Bahá’í Faith to members of the Inupiat, Athabascan, and Tlingit peoples. Mr. Baumgartner and his wife also adopted a daughter while living in Alaska. He worked for a time at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and also in telecommunications, spending 26 years in the development and installation of satellite-based telephone service in many remote regions of Alaska. Some of his other efforts for the Faith included undertaking numerous trips to assist in the growth and development of Bahá’í communities in Alaska, Canada, the United States, and Dominica. The family moved back to the United States in the early 1970s and he continued to serve the Faith there until his death. [Page 268]

JOAN CAMRASS

On 17 September 2002, in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand.

Joan Cynthia Heslop was born on 27 April 1926 in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. After graduating from the University of Oxford in England, she worked as a teacher, occupying the post of head of the Geography Department at Roundhay High School for Girls in Leeds until 1960. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society in 1953. During the 1960s and 70s, she wrote textbooks for secondary schools. In 1961 she married Rex Camrass.

Mrs. Camrass became a Bahá’í in 1974 in Samoa and soon dedicated her. efforts to serving the Bahá’í community in New Zealand. She served on the Auckland City Local Spiritual Assembly from 1975 to 1978 and on the Manukau Assembly from 1979 to 1983. She was widowed in 1978 and from that year until 1992 worked in New Zealand's national Bahá’í archives. There, she was devoted to caring for and cataloging the history and archives of the country's Bahá’í community. She initiated the filing system of the National Spiritual Assembly and wrote an instructional booklet on keeping archives. In 2001, her book Resolute Advance, a history of the development of the Faith in New Zealand, was published by Viking Press. To honor her memory and her efforts, the National Spiritual Assembly renamed its national library the Joan Camrass Reference Library.

ARAMIS COSTAS

On 18 September 2002, in Burzaco, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Aramis Orlando Costas was born on 31 January 1932, in José Mármol, Buenos Aires. His parents became Bahá’ís in 1941 and from that point raised their children in the Faith. Mr. Costas affirmed his belief in 1945 and later took the Faith to new regions of Argentina. He worked as a designer and sign maker and was able to travel widely in pursuit of the needs of the Argentinean Bahá’í community. He married Lydia Barsellini in 1958 and they traveled together, accompanied by their only son, to carry out an intensive program of expansion of Bahá’í communities in the Mapuche area in General Roca. They established the first Local Assembly in General Roca in 1969, and during the family's four years there Mr. Costas had a regular radio program about the Faith, with listeners as far away as Chile. He was also instrumental, with his wife, in developing Argentina's first national bulletin in 1962. He served on the Local Assembly of Almirante Brown from 1976 until 1999 and, in 1967, Mr. Costas was elected to the Spiritual Assembly of Argentina. [Page 269]

LACEY CRAWFORD

On 21 July 2002, in Columbia, South Carolina, the United States.

Lacey Crawford was born on 12 December 1920 in Toledo, Ohio, and became a Bahá’í in 1964, after a tour of duty in the ‎us US‎ Army. A graduate in photography from the Illinois Institute of Technology, he worked for Johnson Publishing Co., the world’s largest black-owned publisher. His work as the lead photographer for a groundbreaking article on the Bahá’í Faith in Ebony magazine was used in Bahá’í teaching materials. During the 1960s, he moved with his wife, Ethel, to South Carolina to teach the Bahá’í Faith in the rural areas of the American South. In 1968 he abandoned a promising career as a highly regarded photographer to serve at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel, where he was the head of the Audio-Visual Department for more than 20 years. Returning to South Carolina in 1993, he and Ethel served the Cause with distinction. In its letter after his death, the Universal House of Justice particularly recalled his “steadfast faith and resolute devotion that shone through a gentle but enthusiastic spirit.”

UNA DEAN

On 8 March 2003, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Daughter of Hand of the Cause of God George Townshend and his wife Nancy, Una Townshend was born in Ireland on 20 April 1921. She attended a women’s college in Cheltenham, England, and was active as a Bahá’í from early on in her life, first in Ireland and later in Italy, serving there as a member of the British armed forces during World War II. In 1946 she became the first Bahá’í to settle in Dublin and was later a member of that city’s first Local Spiritual Assembly. She also helped establish the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Liverpool. In October 1953, to fulfill a goal of the Ten Year Crusade, she became the first Bahá’í in Malta, an act for which Shoghi Effendi named her a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. In a letter to her father, Shoghi Effendi wrote: “The work so splendidly initiated by your dear daughter is unique, historic, and of vital importance. I admire her courage, zeal, devotion, and perseverance.” She returned to Ireland in 1954 to aid her ailing father and assist him in writing Christ and Bahá’u’lláh, which Shoghi Effendi called Mr. Townshend’s “crowning achievement.” After her father’s death in March 1957, she moved to Canada. On a trip to Seattle she met and later married Richard (Dick) Dean and the couple settled in Edmonton, where she served on the Local Spiritual Assembly until 1987. The Deans’ daughter, Farah, has a severe mental disability, and the family was among the founding members of the Alberta Association of Families in Action for the Dependent Handicapped. In a message after her passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote of her “exemplary courage” in [Page 270]taking the message of Bahá’u’lláh to the people of Malta and requested that the Bahá’ís of Ireland hold a memorial service to celebrate her life and services to the Bahá’í community.

FRANCES B. EDELSTEIN

On 22 February 2003, in Medford, Oregon, the United States.

Frances Bradford Jones was born on 8 April 1910 in Mattituck, New York, and embraced the Bahá’í Faith in 1938. During the 1930s and 40s her work for the Bahá’í community included efforts to improve race relations. In 1943, she assisted in forming the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Other services included working as secretary of the New York Bahá’í Center and the Green Acre Bahá’í School in Maine; she also served on Local Spiritual Assemblies in New Jersey and California. In 1954, she pioneered to Famagusta, Cyprus, at the request of Shoghi Effendi and stayed for two years before returning to the United States. Later she helped to form the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she lived from 1960 to 1963. She married Ephraim "Frank" Edelstein in 1969; he died in 1973. Her last few years were spent in a care facility. Though blind, she still taught the Faith actively to all with whom she came in contact.

DAWN EDWARDS

On 24 December 2002, in Bellingham, Washington, the United States.

Dawn Edwards was born around 1916. Her services to the Bahá’í Faith included pioneering to Nepal from 1972 to 1975, to Turkey in 1975, and to Thailand from 1976 to 1978. She also undertook a trip to Romania in May and June 1991. Her published works about the Bahá’í Faith include Pocket Thoughts, Bahá’í Basics, and Petals of Poetry. In its message after her passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote that her "selfless services" as a pioneer were a "testament to her devotion" to the Faith.

ELAINE EILERS

On 3 November 2002, in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Elaine Snider was born in Champaign, Illinois, the United States, on 15 December 1917. Her father, Howard J. Snider, was a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, and they served together on the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Smyrna, Georgia. She was also a member of the District Teaching Committee in Northern Georgia during the 1960s and '70s. She studied interior decoration, was an artist by profession, and was a contributor to the Brilliant Star children's magazine. She married William Eilers and the couple had three sons. Though she was partially paralyzed in her left leg from polio in 1949, it did not stop her travels for the Faith. A pioneer to Malawi in the early 1970s, she was only [Page 271]able to stay for a year and a half before returning to the United States due to visa problems. In 1976, she returned to Africa, this time settling in the area of Rhodesia that would later become Zimbabwe, and remained there until the end of her life. Her services to the Bahá’í community in Zimbabwe included membership on various national and local committees, and work in the office of the Continental Board of Counsellors. She also offered financial assistance to many Zimbabweans for their education and contributed to the construction of seminar facilities and the national center in Harare.

KHOJASTEH KIYANI

On 11 November 2002, in Begnins, Vaud, Switzerland.

Khojasteh Khorshand was born in 1917 in Tehran, Persia (Iran), to a Bahá’í family. In Tehran, she served on the Committee for the Advancement of Women and the Committee for Liaison with Authorities, as well as financing and establishing a free school for village children in Sharif-Ábád, Qazvin. Around 1956, she left Iran for Europe, settling first in Italy, where she helped to establish the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Padova. She later moved to Paris, where she married Hossein-Gholi Kiyani, who died in 1993. Together with her husband, she donated a building in Paris for use as the national Bahá’í center and also participated in the acquisition of a historic building where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had stayed during His visit to Paris in 1913.

KHODARAHM PAYMAN

On 2 August 2002, in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Khodarahm Hormozdyar Payman was born in November 1921 in Yazd, Persia (Iran), to a Bahá’í family. He moved to Bombay, India, in 1942 to start a career in business and during his time in the country was elected to the Regional Spiritual Assembly of India, Pakistan, and Burma. He married Parvin Siroosi in 1947, and the couple had three children. In 1950, they pioneered to Indonesia (then known as the Dutch East Indies) and remained in that country until the end his life. His business career continued in Indonesia, where he worked as an exporter of tea and later as a representative of a foreign telecommunications company. When he arrived, the country was engaged in a war for independence. There was only one other Bahá’í in Indonesia at the time, and during the majority of his time there, the Faith’s activities were heavily restricted by the government, but he was nonetheless able to do much in support of the Bahá’í community. He was a founding member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Jakarta and a member of the first Regional Spiritual Assembly of Southeast Asia when it formed in 1957. He also became fluent in the Indonesian language and was able to translate Bahá’í writings. He served as an Auxiliary Board member and in 1968 was appointed by the Universal [Page 272]House of Justice to the Continental Board of Counsellors for Asia. He served as a Continental Counsellor for 22 years and traveled extensively, undertaking teachings trips to Malaysia, Burma, Laos, and the Philippines. Among his other services was his membership on the Regional Board of Trustees of Huqúqu’lláh in Southeast Asia. After his death, the Universal House of Justice asked that memorial gatherings be held in his honor in Indonesia and at the House of Worship in New Delhi, India.

PAPALI'ITELE STEVEN PERCIVAL

On 17 December 2002, in Apia, Samoa.

Susuga Papali'itele Stephen Charles Percival was born on 13 February 1929 in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. He became a Bahá’í in July 1957 and was elected to the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the South Pacific in 1959, also serving on the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Apia. Despite having little formal education, he established a successful business in Samoa and served on several governmental advisory boards to assist in developing the country's economy. In 1962, he established one of the first manufacturing plants in Samoa, mass producing men's shirts with traditional design prints. Among his many services to the Faith were his frequent travels to rural villages in Samoa to teach the Faith. He also donated land for the first Bahá’í center in Samoa, was instrumental in securing the property to serve as the site for the House of Worship at Tiapapata, and negotiated with the government to secure recognition of Bahá’í holy days as religious observances. He had five children with his wife, Greta Gurau, whom he married in 1953. He was also a close friend of His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, who bestowed the title "Papali'itele" on him, a designation meaning "high chief."

JOYCE HONEYMAN PERDU

On 11 December 2002, in Cardiff, Wales.

Joyce Eileen Honeyman was born on 27 November 1922 in London. She married Joseph Perdu in Cairo in 1951 and the couple had three children. Although her husband taught her the Faith, she did not formally embrace it until 1961, after separating from him. She lived in several countries in Africa, including Sudan, Madagascar, and South Africa and worked for the British Foreign Office in London and Beirut. For most of her life, she was an English teacher. In 1961, after having formally declared herself as a Bahá’í in the UK, she pioneered to the Canary Islands, initiating more than 40 years of traveling in service to the Faith. She was a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Las Palmas until she moved to Spain in 1964, where she served on the first Local Assembly of Malaga and other Local Assemblies in Jaén, Córdoba, and Almería through the 1970s and '80s. She also lived in Honduras from 1984 to [Page 273]1996, assisting nascent Bahá’í communities and traveling extensively through the country before finally returning to the UK, where she passed away.

FUAD RIZAI

On 10 December 2002, in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England.

Born in Tehran, Iran, on 5 January 1944. Fuad Rizai was a third generation Bahá’í. He moved to England in the early '70s and was first elected as a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tunbridge Wells in 1975, serving on that body until 2001. In 1979, Mr. Rizai began working on the Bahá’í Advisory Service, a committee set up by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom to assist Iranian Bahá’ís arriving in the UK in the wake of the Iranian revolution, during which time the Bahá’í community in Iran was heavily persecuted. He continued this valuable service for the rest of his life and was always available to help people with difficulties. In February 1991, he commenced work at the Bahá’í national center in London as office manager, and he remained in the National Assembly's service until shortly before his passing. He also served on the National Properties Committee, carrying out work on the various Bahá’í properties in the UK. In its message after his passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote of his "exceptional devotion and dedication," particularly in his assistance of the Bahá’í refugees. Mr. Rizai had three children with his wife, Jill Dinnings.

HESHMAT’U’LLAH SABET SHARGHI

On 27 May 2002, in Kampala, Uganda.

Heshmat’u’lláh Sabet Sharghi was born in a small village in Kashan, Persia (Iran), on 20 March 1933. His family members were persecuted for their religion, as their father was a well-known Muslim teacher who became a Bahá’í. In 1953 he left Iran for the Persian Gulf region to spread the Bahá’í teachings. He resided in several different countries, serving on a variety of Local and National Spiritual Assemblies for more than 30 years. He was with the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum on her visit to Kenya and Ethiopia in 1968. She later advised him to go to Sudan, and in 1975 he pioneered to that country with his family, living and serving there until 1997. That year, the Universal House of Justice recommended that he and his wife Minou go to Uganda to serve as custodians of the House of Worship in Kampala. They served there for five years before his death. He was buried on the grounds of the House of Worship. [Page 274]

FADL’ULLÁH ÁSTÁNÍ SHISHVÁN

On 2 January 2003, in Bukittinggi, Indonesia.

Fadl’ulláh Ástání was born to a Bahá’í family on 21 March 1917, in Shishván, Azerbaijan. In 1944 he married Lamieh Ahmadpour-Milani, and together the couple raised four daughters. Active as a Bahá’í while pursuing a career in medicine, he served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Marághih, Iran, from 1949 to 1955 and also founded a hospital in the city. In 1955, he pioneered to Indonesia with his wife and their four children. After two years in the country, he was elected to the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Southeast Asia. His Bahá’í services and his work as a physician developed concurrently. He helped to establish a number of Bahá’í study classes, children's classes, and summer schools in both Padang and Bukittinggi and was instrumental in forming the Local Assemblies in Sigli, Padang, and Bukittinggi. He was also appointed director of the city health services and director of the public hospital in Sigli. Dr. Ástání was in charge of surgery in both the military and the public hospitals in Sigli, Padang, and Bukittingi and was decorated with medals of appreciation and certificates of achievement from the directors of the hospital in Padang. He received other commendations for his services to the people of Indonesia, including those from the Commander-in-Chief of the military and the Deputy Minister of Defense; he was also appointed as Professor Emeritus for anatomy at Universitas Andalas. Because of his reputation in the medical profession, he developed a good relationship with government authorities that aided the Bahá’í community when its members were harassed or censured during the 37-year period when the Faith's activities were restricted. After his death, the Universal House of Justice recalled his "magnificent example of unswerving conviction to the service of humanity."

BARBARA RUTLEDGE SIMS

On 24 April 2002, in Tokyo, Japan.

Barbara Helen Rutledge was born on 17 April 1918, in San Francisco, California, the United States. She was a third generation Bahá’í and lived in several communities in Southern California in her early years, but felt a strong desire to travel to another country. She married Charles A. (Sandy) Sims, who was not a Bahá’í but had been born and raised in Japan. This, combined with encouragement from Hand of the Cause of God Agnes Alexander, led her in December 1953 to pioneer to Japan, the country where she would dedicate the rest of her life to advancing the Bahá’í community. Although she found work with the US government, life was difficult in a country still recovering from the ravages of war. She was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tokyo in 1954, and in 1957 to the first National Spiritual Assembly of North [Page 275]

OBITUARIES

East Asia. In 1974, she was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of Japan, serving on that body until 1993. Her other services to the community included volunteering in the national Bahá’í office and the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, and helping to develop the national archives of Japan. She also authored books about the history and development of the Faith in Japan, Macau, South Korea, and Taiwan, and published her memoirs. In its message after her death, the Universal House of Justice advised Bahá’ís in Japan to hold memorial gatherings in her honor.

GERD STRAND

On 16 December 2002, in Oslo, Norway.

Gerd Osmundsen was born on 12 March 1910 in Oslo and became a Bahá’í in 1951. She raised one son with her husband, Oscar Strand. Besides her responsibilities as a wife and mother, her dedication to the Faith was her primary vocation. She served for more than 15 years on the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Oslo, on the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Scandinavia and Finland from 1957 to 1962, and later on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Norway from 1962 to 1968. She also traveled extensively throughout Norway to teach the Faith, particularly after her appointment as an Auxiliary Board member, a position she occupied from 1968 to 1986. Mrs. Strand was a distinguished public speaker and translator of Bahá’í literature. In 1967, she was granted an audience with King Olav V to present The Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh along with a letter to His Majesty from the Universal House of Justice.

MARIE LOUISE SUHM

On 20 August 2002, in Princeton, New Jersey, the United States.

Born 30 July 1925, Mary Louise Kelsey was raised in a Bahá’í family. With her husband, Richard T. Suhm, she moved to Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, where they helped to form a Local Spiritual Assembly. Later, she, her husband, and their three-month-old son, the first of their three children, were the first Bahá’ís in Morocco (International Zone). Arriving in Tangier in 1954, they were soon able to form the first Local Spiritual Assembly there. Both Mrs. Suhm and her husband were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for their services in Morocco, one of the goal areas of the Ten Year Crusade. They stayed until 1956, when Mrs. Suhm contracted polio. The couple divorced in 1976 and she began working at the national Bahá’í center in the US, including a stint as manager of the Office of Pioneering from 1977 until 1987. She also went to Taiwan in 1988-89 to teach the Faith there. After her death, the message of the Universal House of Justice stated that her "sacrificial service will be long remembered." [Page 276]

URSULA VON BRUNN

On 6 April 2003, in Bolivia.

Ursula Klauss was born 21 October 1917 in Bell, Germany. In January 1943 she married Eberhard von Brunn, an army surgeon, who went missing in action in 1944. The couple had one daughter. Though Mrs. von Brunn had been raised by a Christian minister, she was impressed by the Faith in her encounter with it at public talks by Hands of the Cause of God Dr. Adelbert Mühlschlegel and Dr. Hermann Grossmann. She declared her belief in April 1952. In June 1953, she attended an international Bahá’í conference in Stockholm, where Shoghi Effendi’s call for pioneers to virgin territories was read, and after seeking advice from Dr. Grossmann she decided to go to Wyk in the North Frisian Islands. There, she lived a simple life dedicated entirely to spreading the teachings of the Faith. As the first Bahá’í to settle in Wyk, she was appointed as a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh by Shoghi Effendi. She eventually had to return to the mainland, where she worked as chief secretary in a public library. She served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tübingen and on Bahá’í committees, particularly the Committee of the German Bahá’í Publishing Trust. In 1967, she was able to join her daughter and son-in-law in Bolivia, where they had pioneered some years earlier. There, she learned Spanish and worked as a secretary while spending much of her time teaching the Bahá’í Faith and assisting the community. In its message after her passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote of her “exemplary courage” and “devoted and selfless services.”

SEYMOUR WEINBERG

On 6 February 2003, in Denver, Colorado, the United States.

Seymour Weinberg became a Bahá’í in the 1940s as a young soldier and served the Bahá’í Faith through his writings, public presentations, and other outreach efforts. With his wife, Cynthia, he pioneered to Thun, Switzerland, in 1960 for two years. The couple later relocated to Colorado, where he rendered services to both the Bahá’í community and the wider public. He worked as an auditor for the state of Colorado and was credited with developing and instituting accounting policies and practices that helped restore major government programs affecting the elderly. Although he suffered from many physical ailments during the last months of his life, he shared hundreds of copies of his articles on the Faith, as well as the Us National Spiritual Assembly’s statement on the destiny of America, with the medical personnel who assisted him. In its message after his passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote of the “adamantine faith and irrepressible zeal [that] characterized his deeds in the teaching and administrative fields.” [Page 277]

FIROOZEH YAGANEGI

On 27 April 2002, in Vientiane, Laos.

Firoozeh Mehraban Bidenjeri was born on 14 February 1919 in Yazd, Persia (Iran). She embraced the Faith as a child, after attending Bahá’í moral education classes. She married Soroosh Forood Yaganegi in April 1935, in Pune, India, in the first Bahá’í marriage in the city. In 1941, she left with her husband and children as pioneers to the south of India, where they were the first Bahá’ís in Bangalore. Together with Lakshminarayan Reddy and her husband, Mrs. Yaganegi was one of the first Bahá’ís to start mass teaching of the Faith in that region of the country. She was elected to first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bangalore in 1942. She later moved to the village of Sait Palyam and Karianapalya, where she served on the Local Spiritual Assembly until 2001. As the chairperson of the village council, she was instrumental in starting the village school and took special interest in promoting women’s education, encouraging parents in the village to send their daughters to school. She had an excellent command of the Kannada language and traveled regularly to teach the Faith. Her home was open to every Bahá’í who visited the area and was used for many Bahá’í activities, including her moral education classes for children and youth. She and her husband eventually donated their property to the Bahá’í community, and it was used as a site for Bahá’í educational institutions. With her husband, who died in 1991, she had eight children, all of whom she actively encouraged to spread the Faith in other countries. In 2001, she moved to Laos, and passed away there a year later.