Archives › Obituaries
Mavis Creager spent nearly 15 years in Japan teaching conversational English and making many connections to help Baha’i communities grow. She passed away January 18, 2012, at age 76. Her home of the past 18 years was La Crosse, Wisconsin, and she lived most of her life in that state. In a letter of condolence [...]
Elise Schreiber Lynelle traveled as a young woman to South America and Africa in service to the Baha’i Faith, and was honored twice as a Knight of Baha’u’llah for helping establish Baha’i communities in territories that are now part of Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Principe. She passed away on February 26, 2012, at [...]
Rick Harmsen was an energetic promoter of the Baha’i Faith for four decades in the United States and for two years in The Gambia. He strove for a life of service amid personal difficulties. He was an educator in printing and graphics technology during one of the most rapid periods of change the field has [...]
Virginia A. Robare, 85, Bemidji, Minnesota Virginia Robare, a Baha’i of 46 years’ standing, was an early pioneer for the Faith among the Chippewa/Ojibwa peoples, and continued for decades to make friendships and share the Faith among American Indians in northern Minnesota. She passed away on December 26, 2011, after extended illness. In a letter [...]
Zia Nikubonyad worked for the development of the Baha’i Faith over many decades in Asia, Europe, North and South America. He passed away October 7, 2011, in Cardiff, California, at age 89. He had lived in the San Diego area since the 1980s. A letter of tribute from the National Spiritual Assembly says in part, [...]
H.T.D. “Tim” Rost put a profound vision onto paper in 1970 when he produced a doctoral dissertation on how Baha’i writings could help shape universities and colleges inspired by the teachings of Baha’u’llah. He took the opportunity to put that vision into action in the 1980s, when the educator from the Midwest joined the staff [...]
H. William (Bill) Richter, an electrical engineer, inventor and businessman, devoted 18 years of his retirement to development work for the Baha’i community and the general population of the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, alongside his wife of 68 years, Marjorie. Bill passed away at age 92 on November 3, 2011. He had resided most [...]
Dale L. Woods served the Baha’i Faith for many years both in the Dominican Republic and in his home region of northwestern Oregon, assisting in the growth of Baha’i communities and supporting fellow Baha’i pioneers in the Caribbean island nation. He passed away September 22, 2011, in El Llano, Dominican Republic, after several years’ struggle [...]
Patricia Campbell was a pioneer for the Baha’i Faith in many places, both internationally and on the home front, alongside her husband of many years, Melvin. Patricia passed away October 10, 2011, at age 68. Her most recent residence was in Van Zandt County, Texas. A letter of tribute from the National Spiritual Assembly of [...]
Mehdi Rajabzadeh, 86, Trenton, NJ Renowned for his Persian calligraphy, Mehdi Rajabzadeh served for many years as caretaker of the New York City Baha’i Center and later moved to Trenton to help develop that Baha’i community. He passed away October 17, 2011. Mehdi was born in Kerman, Iran, of Baha’i parents. In 1979 he left [...]
Ursula Richardson was energetically involved in helping Baha’i communities grow in South Carolina, serving the Cause alongside her husband, Moses, in a variety of capacities since the 1980s — including traveling to three continents for the Faith. She passed away July 17, 2011, in Lydia, South Carolina, at age 66. A letter of tribute from [...]
Yael Ruth Wurmfeld, a world citizen in her professional, civic and personal life, assisted many U.S. Baha’is in realizing their wishes to serve the Faith overseas. She also played a crucial role in organizing the centennial Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1993. Yael passed away on October 1, 2011, at age 62, [...]
Russell and Gina Garcia saw a lot of changes in the Bahá’í world, especially in the four decades since the Californians settled in New Zealand. But one consistent motivation for their service to the Faith rings as true now as it did in the 1970s: As Russ told many people, in many ways, over many [...]
Mr. Ian C. Semple, former member of the Universal House of Justice, has passed away at the age of 82. Read the obituary from the Baha’i World News Service
World-famous composer and arranger Russ Garcia died peacefully at his Kerikeri home on Sunday, November 20, 2011 at the age of 95. Garcia, a member of the Baha’i Faith, wrote a wide variety of music for screen, stage and broadcast. Read the obituary from the Baha’i World News Service [...]
Bahereh L. Rastegar-Kashi, devoted to children’s spiritual education, served on national and local committees in Iran for Bahá’í education and advancement of women. She later pioneered for the Faith to Australia and the Cook Islands. She peacefully ascended to the Abhá Kingdom on August 13, 2011, at age 96. She resided most recently in Los [...]
Joan E. Lozier helped solidify the Venezuelan national Bahá’í community as a pioneer for the Faith and a member of the National Spiritual Assembly serving that country in the 1950s and ’60s. She later served the Cause in Michigan and over a wide range of the Southwest. Joan passed away August 30, 2011, in Cochise [...]
Read a beautiful tribute to the life of Violette Nakhjavani in this entry of Baha’i Blog.
Lifelong educator served Faith in this country and abroad
Home was a hub for many Baha’i activities
Scholar helped develop gardens enjoyed by millions
Taught school everywhere she went
Sayyarih Kharazmi supported Faith in Iran for many years
Sayyarih N. S. Kharazmi, along with her husband, served the Faith and the Baha’i community in the Azerbaijan region of Iran and supported teaching of the Faith there for many years. She later lived in the Atlanta, Georgia, area for a quarter-century. She passed away March 26, 2011, a few years after having returned to [...]
John Jensen didn’t let blindness become barrier to service
John N. Jensen worked and traveled much of his life to bring the spiritual light of the Baha’i teachings to humanity, even as he developed his five-decade practice in chiropractic — all without letting his physical blindness keep him from serving. With his wife, Lillian, and their younger children, he pioneered to southern Africa, contributed [...]
Arlene Jennrich was steadfast teacher on road, at home
Arlene A. Jennrich was a consummate Baha’i teacher, whether traveling for the Faith throughout the Midwest and into Europe or hosting one of her innumerable, often youth-centered fireside gatherings in Wilmette, Illinois. She was an elected member of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Wilmette for close to 40 years, many as secretary. She [...]
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