Bahá’í World/Volume 32/Obituaries

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[Page 227]

Obituaries

‘ALÍ-AKBAR FURÚTAN

On 26 November 2003, in Haifa, Israel.

‘Alí-Akbar Furútan, one of the most beloved figures in the Bahá’í world, influenced thousands of lives through his warmth, humor, and wisdom. He carried the rank of Hand of the Cause of God and at the time of his passing was one of only two surviving members of that company. Appointed as a Hand of the Cause in December 1951 by Shoghi Effendi, Mr. Furútan was the longest-serving member of that illustrious body of senior officers of the Faith.

Mr. Furútan was born in Sabzivár, Iran, on 29 April 1905 to Muḥammad-‘Alíy-i-Sabzivárí and Sughrá Furútan. Partly because of the harassment and threats his father received after becoming a Bahá’í, the family moved to Ashkhabad, Russian Turkestan (now part of Turkmenistan), where there was an established Bahá’í community and young ‘Alí could attend a Bahá’í school for boys. Through his years of school and university, he took an active part in the work of the Bahá’í communities of Ashkhabad, Baku, Moscow, and elsewhere in Russia.

As a young man, Mr. Furútan won a scholarship to the University of Moscow, from which he obtained degrees in education and psychology. Following his graduation in 1930, he was expelled from the Soviet Union in the wave of the government persecution of religion. Despite the circumstances of his departure from the Soviet Union, though, he retained to the end of his [Page 228]life a deep love for the people of that region.

After his return to Iran, he married Ataieh Azíz-Khurásání in 1931. The two moved to Saysán, where he established two Bahá’í schools—one for girls and one for boys—which enrolled 700 students.

He played an ever more significant role in the work and administration of the Iranian Bahá’í community, moving to Tehran upon being elected to the National Spiritual Assembly in 1933. He also served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tehran, and was often secretary of both bodies. During Mr. Furútan’s first pilgrimage to Haifa in 1941, Shoghi Effendi commended him on the excellence of his work on both Assemblies and said, “Your services are now local and national, and they will be international in the future.”¹

‘Alí-Akbar Furútan

After his relocation to Tehran, Mr. Furútan was appointed as principal of the Tarbíyat School for Boys, only to see it and other Bahá’í schools close soon after by order of the Pahlavi government at the instigation of fanatical Islamic elements in the country.

In 1946 the Iranian Radio and Broadcasting Service invited him to give a series of lectures on children’s education, the texts of which were published as Essays on Education and subsequently in English as Mothers, Fathers, and Children. He also wrote other books on the Faith, including books for children, which have been translated into several languages. His memoirs, titled Ḥikáyat-i-Dil (The Story of My Heart), were published in Persian and English.

Of his appointment as a Hand of the Cause of God in 1951, he wrote, “[it was] a momentous transformation in my spiritual life” and said, “I have never been able to offer enough gratitude at the Holy Threshold for bestowing on me such an honor.”² Though the beginning of the Ten Year Crusade in 1953 brought a substantial increase in his duties for the Faith, he bore them with love and humility. During that year he traveled constantly and attended all four of the Intercontinental Bahá’í Conferences. [Page 229]His 24 years as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran came to a close in 1957, when, after the passing of Shoghi Effendi, he was one of the nine Hands of the Cause selected to reside in the Holy Land, pending the election of the Universal House of Justice.

He remained a resident in the Holy Land following the House of Justice’s election in 1963 until his death, but continued to travel extensively. He undertook trips in countries throughout Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australasia, and Europe, both to spread the teachings of the Faith and to offer encouragement and counsel to Bahá’í communities.

It was with particular joy that he finally returned to Russia in 1990 to witness the re-formation of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Moscow after a lapse of 60 years. He also returned the following year, this time for the election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Soviet Union.

He died at the age of 98 of natural causes, but despite his advanced age maintained to the end a demanding schedule of activities, including his regular meetings with the thousands of pilgrims who visit the Bahá’í World Centre every year. Mr. Furútan would greet the pilgrims and give inspiring talks that drew on his decades of service to the Bahá’í Faith. It seemed a particularly fitting conclusion for a long life of service to humankind that his death should have occurred at the close of one such meeting, where he had just addressed assembled Bahá’í pilgrims.

His passing occurred on the Day of the Covenant—a poignant moment for a man whose life was so consecrated to promoting and defending the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh.

He is survived by his daughters, Írán Muhájir and Parvín Furútan, and two granddaughters, Gisu Muhajir-Cook and Shabnam Rahnema.

The Universal House of Justice sent a message to the Bahá’í world on 27 November 2003 announcing his passing and recalling his illustrious life and services:

With profound feelings of loss, we announce the passing, yesterday evening, on the Day of the Covenant, of the dearly loved Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan. Having addressed the assembled pilgrims as was his practice, he paused to exchange a few words with some of the Russian-speaking friends; then, as he was leaving the room, his heart failed. He had fulfilled his longing to serve the Cause to his last breath.

Born in Sabzivar, Iran, on 29 April 1905, ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan moved with his family to ‘Ishqabad in what was then Russian Turkestan, and, through his years of school and university, he took an active part in the work of the Bahá’í communities of ‘Ishqabad, Baku, Moscow, and other parts of [Page 230]Russia. In 1930 he was expelled from the Soviet Union for his involvement in Bahá’í activities and, from that time on, played an ever more significant role in the work and administration of the Iranian Bahá’í community. In December 1951 he was among the first to be appointed by Shoghi Effendi as Hands of the Cause of God. Following the passing of the Guardian, he was one of the nine Hands of the Cause selected, at their first Conclave, to serve as Custodians in the Holy Land. For the remaining forty-six years of his life he labored strenuously at the World Centre, undertaking journeys throughout the world, assisting, advising, and enthusing the friends and their national and local institutions. These journeys culminated in 1990 and 1991 with visits to the newly re-emerging Bahá’í communities of the countries of the Soviet Union.

‘Alí-Akbar Furútan’s single-minded devotion to the Faith and its Guardian, the vital role he played in the establishment of the Administrative Order in Iran, his contribution to the spiritual and material education of children, his services as a Hand of the Cause of God, and his unswerving support of the Universal House of Justice together constitute an imperishable record of service in the annals of the Cause. His penetrating mind, his loving concern, and his sparkling humor are ineffaceable memories in the hearts of the thousands of believers with whom he spoke.

While praying in the Holy Shrines for the progress of ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan’s illumined soul in the Abhá Kingdom, we supplicate Bahá’u’lláh to bless likewise the fruition of the seeds he sowed in this world.

We extend our loving sympathy to his daughters, Írán Muhájir and Parvín Furútan, to his granddaughters, and to all other members of his family.

We advise friends in all lands to commemorate his passing and to hold memorial services in his honor in all Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs.

HADI AFSAHI

On 28 April 2003, in Uppsala, Sweden.

A fourth generation Bahá’í, Hadi Afsahi was born on 15 April 1924 in Tehran, Iran, and received his early education at the Bahá’í-run Tarbíyat School in that city. After earning a degree in civil engineering from the University of Tehran he worked with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company from 1947 to 1959 and pioneered to two different localities within the country. Mr. Afsahi was a member of the first Local Spiritual Assemblies in the Iranian cities of Masjid-i-Sulayman and Gachsaran. He married Mehri Golmohammadi in 1954; they had two children, May and Aram. In January 1960, Mr. Afsahi left Iran for Sweden, settling in Uppsala, a pioneer goal city, to be joined several [Page 231]months later by his family. In Sweden, he served as a member of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Uppsala and was also a member of the country's National Teaching Committee from 1960 to 1967. Elected as a member of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Sweden, he served on that body from 1962 until 1968, when he was appointed as a member of the Auxiliary Board of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Europe, in which capacity he served until 1993. Mr. Afsahi made many trips throughout Sweden and internationally to teach the Bahá’í Faith. Within Sweden, he was active in teaching minority groups such as the Roma people and the native Sámi people of Lapland. During his years in Sweden Mr. Afsahi worked as a high school teacher of mathematics, physics, and chemistry, until his retirement in 1989. He was also involved with the United Nations Association and the National Sámi Organization. In its message after his passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote of his "long-serving and steadfast devotion, his warm and radiant spirit, and his indefatigable dedication to the teaching work," which it "recalled with deep gratitude."

DAOUD (DAVID) ANI

On 26 June 2003, in Oxford, England.

Daoud (David) Ani was born in Baghdad in 1913 into a Jewish family. He and his brother both became Bahá’ís, and later he taught the Faith to his two sisters. After serving for many years on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iraq, he moved to the United Kingdom, arriving there in 1973. He lived in London, Portsmouth, and Oxford, and served on several Local Spiritual Assemblies. Mr. Ani was a keen historian who spent much time researching and writing about the history of the Bahá’í Faith in his native land. In its message of condolence, the Universal House of Justice said, "His outstanding service... in his native Iraq... has left influential traces that future generations will befittingly acknowledge."

ETHNA STEWART ARCHIBALD

On 17 October 2003, in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Born in 1918 in New Zealand and raised in a strong Presbyterian family, Ethna Stewart Archibald became a Bahá’í in May 1947 after a chance encounter with a Bahá’í during a train journey in Australia. Back in New Zealand, she served on the Local Spiritual Assembly in Auckland from 1950 to 1952, before moving to London. During her pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1955, Shoghi Effendi encouraged her to pioneer to Africa, and nine months later she found herself in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), where she stayed until 1973. Ms. Archibald was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís [Page 232]of South Central Africa and served as its secretary for many years. When she moved to American Samoa, she became the secretary to the Continental Board of Counsellors for Australasia, and later she served at the Bahá’í World Centre as secretary to Universal House of Justice member ‘Alí Nakhjavání. She married Phillip James Daka of Zambia in 1966. They divorced in 1981. In its message after her passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote, “Ethna will long be remembered for her total commitment to the Cause, her warm and loving spirit, her positive outlook, and her kindness to all with whom she came in contact.”

SHANTA BASIN

On 5 April 2004, in Maseru, Lesotho.

Shanta Appa was born into a Hindu family in Mauritius on 10 August 1938. She became a Bahá’í as a teenager, along with other family members, and began her life of service organizing Bahá’í deepening classes for children and youth. In 1965 she traveled to Madagascar and then pioneered there from 1966 to 1968. In 1971 she moved to the United States, where she was active in teaching campaigns in the Southern region. During that time she also traveled to Canada, Tobago, Martinique, and Trinidad. In 1973, in Lesotho, she met and married Kalman Basin, a pioneer from Alaska. She served as a member of the Auxiliary Board of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa from 1972 to 1991. The following year she was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Lesotho and served on that body until the end of her life. She was the first Bahá’í pioneer to die in Lesotho. The Universal House of Justice wrote, “The steadfastness of her commitment in service to the Cause has left an example for others to follow.”

JOON CHUNG

On 3 December 2003, in Seoul, Korea.

Joon Chung was born on 30 April 1945 in Seoul, Korea. After becoming a Bahá’í in 1968, he served as a member of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Guam in 1970. He married Irene MacKenzie in 1971, and the couple had three sons, Chaun, Kapono, and Lucas. They moved to Chicago in 1973, and there Mr. Chung received his training in graphic design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Chicago from 1975 to 1977. He also served as the graphic designer for the Public Information Office at the Bahá’í National Center from 1974 to 1979 before moving to Hawaii, where he founded a design firm in 1982. In 1987 he pioneered with his family to Korea and was elected as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly from 1990 to 2000. Professionally, he was [Page 233]one of Korea's leading designers and was widely acknowledged as raising the level of design in the country.

HOPETON FITZ-HENLEY

On 14 September 2003, in Kingston, Jamaica.

Hopeton Glanville St. Leger Fitz-Henley, who was born on 12 January 1938 in Kingston, Jamaica, embraced the Bahá’í Faith in 1956. He was a member of the Auxiliary Board for the Propagation of the Bahá’í Faith in the Americas from 1976 to 1981. A member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Jamaica for more than two decades, from 1982 until the time of his death, he was also a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Kingston, served on several national and local committees, and traveled throughout Jamaica to teach the Faith and to strengthen Local Spiritual Assemblies, communities, and isolated believers. Mr. Fitz-Henley often represented the Bahá’í Faith in its external affairs work with government committees, nongovernmental organizations, the United Nations Association of Jamaica, the Interfaith Council, and others. Professionally, Mr. Fitz-Henley established his own business college in Kingston in the 1960s, which operated for many years. Among his many initiatives in the business community was his role in co-founding the Small Business Association of Jamaica and the National Development Foundation of Jamaica. He was a founding member of the National Advisory Council for Small Business and served on a number of other bodies that sought to stimulate the economic development of disadvantaged members of Jamaica's population. He married Sally Bowman in 1976, but they later divorced. In its message after his passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote, "Surely his record of achievements will inspire generations of believers in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands." He leaves behind a daughter, Parisa, and a son, Naysan.

LEONARD HERBERT

On 3 May 2003, in Lihue, Kauai, the Hawaiian Islands.

Born on 10 December 1903 in San Bernardino, California, USA, Leonard Herbert trained at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, afterwards staying on to teach there for 14 years. By the 1950s he was maintaining his own studio, teaching classes in portrait and figure painting, and was a member of the Los Angeles Art Institute. During that time his wife, Jesma Robison, whom he had married in 1927, became a Bahá’í while working on contract for the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles, and Leonard joined the Faith shortly afterwards. Jesma passed away in the late 1950s, and he married Serrita Camargo in 1960. A few years later they pioneered to the island of Kauai, where they sought to establish a Bahá’í center. In Hawaii the couple [Page 234]contributed energetically to Bahá’í activities and also to cultural life, teaching art classes at the community college and helping with the introduction of art in the schools. When Mr. Herbert suffered a series of debilitating strokes in the early 1970s, he and Serrita relocated to Honolulu, and after he recovered, they discovered she had cancer. They moved to Los Angeles, where she died in 1980. Afterwards, Mr. Herbert returned to Kauai, where he remained until his own passing. The House of Justice wrote of his "impressive record as a homefront pioneer and as a teacher of the Cause," continuing, "He will long be remembered for his artistic skills, which found expression in paintings on Bahá’í themes as well as other subjects."

DAVID HOFMAN

On 9 May 2003, in Oxford, England.

David George Ronald Hofman was born in 1908 in Poona, India, where his father served in the British Army. Educated in England, as a young man he set out to see the world. While in Canada during the 1930s, he encountered the Bahá’í Faith at the home of May and William Sutherland Maxwell in Montreal. He embraced the Faith and continued his travels, living for a time in Hollywood, California, and appearing in a number of silent movies. Back in England, he earned several acting roles in the West End of London and in 1937 became the world's only television announcer on the BBC's first television transmissions. His voice was also heard on the radio, on the BBC's Empire Service. Following World War II he married former US Olympic athlete Marion Holley, who predeceased him. They had two children. The Hofmans were very active members of the Bahá’í community, establishing Bahá’í communities in Northampton, Birmingham, Oxford, Cardiff, and Watford. Mr. Hofman served for 27 years as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom. To promote books of religious interest, including titles on the Bahá’í Faith, he established the publishing firm George Ronald; its first title was The Renewal of Civilization, a book he wrote as an introduction to the Bahá’í Faith. Years later he authored a biography of Hand of the Cause of God George Townshend. Mr. Hofman was elected to the Universal House of Justice at the first International Convention in 1963 and served on that body for 25 years. After his retirement in 1988, he made several extended international teaching trips, meeting not only with Bahá’í communities but with public officials and leaders of thought. After his passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote, "He will be remembered for an adamantine loyalty to the Cause, an unfailing response to the call and guidance of the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice, a central role in the advancement of the British Bahá’í community and the launching of the brilliant Africa campaign, [Page 235]

OBITUARIES

and his, outstanding contributions to Bahá’í literature both as an author and a publisher." He is survived by his second wife, Kathleen, his children, May and Mark, and several grandchildren.

LISIATE MAKA

On 16 November 2003, in Kolofo’ou, Nuku’alofa, Tonga.

Lisiate Maka was born in Lau, Fiji, on 3 January 1919. He became a Bahá’í in 1957 and served the Bahá’í Faith with distinction until the end of his life. In 1958 he was elected as a member of the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Nuku’alofa and served as its secretary for many years. He also served on the first Regional Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific, formed in Fiji in 1959, and then as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific in 1964. From 1970 to 1975 he served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tonga and Cook Islands, and then on the National Spiritual Assembly of Tonga from 1976 to 1979. In 1979 he was appointed as a member of the Auxiliary Board of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Australasia, which he served until he was appointed to the Board of Counsellors the following year, functioning in that capacity for 10 years. Mr. Maka’s first wife, ’Emli Latu, whom he married in 1947, predeceased him in 1991. In 1995, Mr. Maka married Kololia Opera. He was father to 10 adopted children. Professionally, Mr. Maka was a licensed lawyer and a legal advisor to Tonga’s lower and supreme courts; his efforts resulted in the legal incorporation of the first five Local Spiritual Assemblies in Tonga and in the legal recognition of Bahá’í marriage in Tonga in 1973.

STELLA MOTSHEDI MONCHO

On 30 December 2003, in Jwaneng, Botswana.

Stella Molema was born on 17 May 1909 in Kraaipan, South Africa. Her grandfather had been the first of his tribe to accept Christianity, and his granddaughter and several other grandchildren became the first members of his family to accept the Bahá’í Faith. In 1938 she married James Leonard Moncho, who predeceased her in 1995. They had four children. She and her husband embraced the Bahá’í Faith in December 1955, and shortly afterwards she was elected to the first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Mafikeng, on which she served from 1956 to 1957. In 1957, when Mr. Moncho’s work took the family to live in the village of Kanye, they became the first Bahá’ís inside what was to become the Republic of Botswana. Mrs. Moncho’s services to the Bahá’í community were many: she was appointed to the first Bechuanaland Area Teaching Committee; she served for many years on Local Spiritual Assemblies in Matlaken and Jwaneng. A school teacher by profession, she had [Page 236]unequalled command of the Setswana language and was the cotranslator of two significant volumes of Bahá’í writings: Dithapelo tsa Bahá’í (Bahá’í Prayers) and Mafoko a a Subilweng a ga Bahá’u’lláh (The Hidden Words). Many other Bahá’í translation projects benefited from her collaboration and advice.

OLA PAWLOWSKA

On 2 April 2004, in Newfoundland, Canada.

Born on 14 February 1910 in Lakta, outside Cracow, Poland, Ola was the first child of Count Clemens and Alexandra Rutowski. She married Waclaw Paw- lowski, who died in a yachting accident and left her with a young daughter, Suzanne. Ola was working for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Denmark in 1939 when the Second World War broke out; she eventually made her way to Canada. It was while working in the Polish Consulate in Winnipeg that she encountered and eventually embraced the Bahá’í Faith. During the Ten Year Crusade she offered to pioneer to St. Pierre and Miquelon, as she was a French speaker. For this act of service in opening a new territory to the Bahá’í Faith, she was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. Living in that isolated post, she began her work of translating the Bahá’í writings into Polish. After five years she returned briefly to Poland, then moved to Luxembourg. While working for an airline company there, she was offered the opportunity to go to Congo in 1961, only one year after it had gained its independence from Belgium. She remained in that country for 30 years as a cherished member of the commu- nity, walking many miles from village to village, nurturing the youth, serving as a member of the Auxiliary Board of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa. With her health deteriorating, she returned to her native Poland and was able to witness the election of the first National Spiritual Assembly there, but in 1993 she decided it was time to rejoin her daughter in Canada. She spent her final years in yet another pioneer post, in Newfoundland, where she passed away and is buried.

RUTH PRINGLE

On 22 August 2003, in Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica.

Ruth Yancey was born in the United States on 15 June 1920. She became a Bahá’í in 1953 after reading the writings of Bahá’u’lláh for the first time. Two months later, she left to pioneer to Puerto Rico. Subsequent pioneer posts included Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. In this latter country, she was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly in 1961. Trained as an operating room nurse, with a degree in zoology and chemistry, she worked long hours to support herself and then devoted her free time to Bahá’í activities, particularly to encouraging the youth of the community. Her union to Alan Pringle was the [Page 237]first Bahá’í marriage to be legally recognized in Panama. She and her husband, as members of the National Spiritual Assembly in that country, participated in the first election of the Universal House of Justice and attended the First World Congress in London in 1963, where Mrs. Pringle gave an address on "Victories of the Pioneers." In November of that year she was appointed a member of the Auxiliary Board, which she served until her appointment to the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Americas in 1980. She was devoted to working for the rights of women and indigenous peoples and was instrumental in the establishment of the Guaymi Cultural Center and radio station in Soloy, Chiriqui, Panama. Following her passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote, "She particularly promoted the spread of the Divine Message among the indigenous peoples of the Americas, raising their consciousness of the high destiny that awaits them in serving the Cause."

ALICK RATU

On 18 August 2003, in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Born in the village of Adegego, Malaita Island, in the Solomon Islands, in 1942 or 1943, Alick Dudley Ratu entered the Bahá’í Faith in 1972 and served it with distinction for the rest of his life. His first wife, with whom he had five children, died in the late 1970s, and he married Nonoli Olisukulu in the mid-1980s, becoming a stepfather to one daughter. Mr. Ratu was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Solomon Islands almost continuously from 1973 to 2003; for more than half of this time he served as its secretary and for the last four years managed the Bahá’í National Office. Professionally, he worked for many years for the government as an agricultural extension officer on the Island of Malaita; from the mid-1970s, however, he devoted his energies to full-time service of the Bahá’í community.

URSULA SAMANDARI

On 20 June 2003, in Buea, Cameroon.

Ursula Newman was born in Mitcham, Surrey, England, on 29 December 1909. A lecturer in botany at the Swanley Horticultural College in Kent, she embraced the Bahá’í Faith in 1938, after meeting Richard St. Barbe Baker, Hasan Balyuzi, and Dorothy Ferraby. In 1945 she volunteered as one of the first three homefront pioneers in Britain, moving to St. Ives to help establish a Bahá’í community there. Afterwards she moved to Dublin, Ireland, becoming a member of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in the city and in the entire country, serving as its secretary. She married Dr. Mihdi Samandari, whom she had met in Belfast, at the Bahá’í center in London in 1951. Two years later, they moved to Kenya, and after a year went on to Mogadishu, Somalia, where [Page 238]they stayed until 1971, when they pioneered to Cameroon; they remained there until Mrs. Samandari's passing. In the condolence register at her funeral, paramount chief of Buca, HRH Samuel L. Endeley wrote, "My dear Sister, You lived with us like one of us, you served faithfully and lovingly to win souls into God's redeeming grace. You loved us and our country, Cameroon, and you have demonstrated this in dying here like the good soldier of God you have lived to be. You died with your boots on. We thank God for all you were to us. May your soul rest with the good God, our creator, in perfect peace." In its message, the Universal House of Justice recalled her "purity of spirit, radiant joy, and love for all peoples."

LOTTIE TOBIAS

On 25 July 2003, en route from De Poort to Voorburg, the Netherlands. Elisabeth Charlotte (Lottie) Tobias joined the Bahá’í Faith in 1950 when there were only a few dozen Bahá’ís in the Netherlands. She was elected to the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Den Haag in 1952, and in 1957 became a member of the first Spiritual Assembly of the Benelux Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg). When the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Netherlands was established in 1962, she was elected to that body and served on it until 1986-and was its secretary for 24 years. Known as both a cheerful and meticulous administrator and proofreader of Bahá’í materials, "Aunt Lottie" was also unfailingly thoughtful towards others, warmly welcoming newcomers, writing cards to pioneers, and telephoning or visiting the sick. Trained as a social worker, she wrote a long-running column in the Haagse Courant newspaper, offering advice on social and legal matters, and even held a weekly consultation hour for individuals at the newspaper office. She also belonged to the Business and Professional Women's Organization for 40 years and was named an honorary member shortly before her passing. In its message upon her passing, the House of Justice wrote, "she will always be lovingly remembered for her dedication to the progress of the Cause, the upbuilding of its institutions and for her tireless endeavors, over many years, to inspire and encourage all the friends."

HESHMAT VAHDAT

On 27 June 2003, in Danville, California, USA. Heshmatullah Vahdat was born into a Bahá’í family in Kashan, Iran, on 25 September 1923. When he was nine years old his family spent one month in Haifa and were often in the presence of Shoghi Effendi. In Iran, he served as a homefront pioneer in Shahreza for five years, before leaving for Japan, where he remained from 1956 to 1978. He was one of the first Persian Bahá’ís [Page 239]to arrive in Japan during the Ten Year Crusade and served on the first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Amagasaki, Japan, from 1956 to 1968, and then on the Spiritual Assembly of Nishinomiya from approximately 1971 to 1978. He supported his family by establishing an import/export business. He held regular weekly firesides at his home in Japan for 22 years and undertook teaching trips in villages in Japan as well as in Korea and Okinawa. He also visited Bahá’í communities in the Arabian countries, offering them his support for their pioneering efforts. In 1980, he and his family were forced to leave Japan and go as refugees to the United States when the Iranian government refused to renew his passport and the Japanese government would not extend his visa. From 1990 to 2003 he was a homefront pioneer in Danville, California, and served on the first Spiritual Assembly of that community, which was elected in 1991; he remained a member until 1997. During that time he also held regular devotional meetings and discussions of the Faith in his home. He married Kiandokht Youssefian in 1949; the couple had four children.

JIM WALTON

On 18 November 2003, in Alaska.

James Wilbur Walton (Khaalaaxh) was born on 29 March 1923 in Sitka, Alaska, and became Chief of the Kaagwaantaan Wolf House Tlingit clan. As a young man he married Clara Hamilton, worked as a fisherman and carpenter, and served in the US Army during World War 11. He also studied business at Alaska Methodist University. After becoming a Bahá’í in 1953, he traveled, as a Bahá’í teacher, throughout Alaska, North America, Europe, and the Russian Far East, working primarily with indigenous people. He established an International Cross-Cultural Alcohol Program to create a cross-cultural approach to alcohol recovery and spearheaded more than 25 Spiritual Unity of Tribes Gatherings, held from New Zealand to the Sakha Republic, Russia. In response to social problems he perceived in the Sakha Republic, he worked to establish alcohol recovery programs there and promoted cultural and health care exchanges between indigenous people of the Sakha Republic and Alaska. He actively promoted education among Native people and helped broaden understanding of the Tlingit culture. Upon his passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote, "His many years of devoted service to the indigenous people of Alaska and as a pioneer in Russia are warmly remembered."

AZIZ YAZDI

On 19 April 2004, in Vancouver, Canada.

Aziz Ismayn Yazdi, born in 1909 in Alexandria, Egypt, to devoted Bahá’í parents, received his name from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who went to Alexandria in [Page 240]1910 for a brief time. During the First World War, the Yazdi family moved to Damascus, on the instruction of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and then in 1919 to Haifa. As a young boy, Mr. Yazdi was often in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá until His passing in 1921. Later, Mr. Yazdi studied banking in Egypt and electrical engineering in England and then worked in management in the oil industry in Iran. He married Soraya Khamsi in 1941, and they had four children. Mrs. Yazdi passed away in 1997. After living and serving the Faith in both Iran and Iraq, the family moved to Kenya in response to a call from Shoghi Effendi. There, Mr. Yazdi ran an import business for some 20 years. He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central and East Africa, and later of Kenya. In 1954 he was appointed a member of the Auxiliary Board in Africa, and in 1968 he was appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa. From 1973 to 1988, he served as a member of the International Teaching Centre at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa. Following his retirement, he and his wife moved to Canada, but he continued his travels to promote the Faith he loved so dearly. Following his passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote, “His life was characterized by an imperishable record of selfless service, steadfast action, and instant obedience.”

---

NOTES

¹ ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan, The Story of My Heart (Oxford: George Ronald, 1984), pp. 58–59.

² Ibid., p. 82.