Mehranak Kusha's Obituary
Mehranak Rashidi Sangsari Kusha passed away peacefully at home on October 22, 2024. She was preceded in death by her parents Ali Asghar Rashidi and Shokooh Naderi and her brother Bahman Rashidi.
She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Ahmad Kusha, sons Siamak (Judi), Babak (Barbara), and Barmak Kusha; grandchildren, Kayvan (Ashley), Samuel (Daniela), Darius (Kasten), and Cyrus Kusha; and great-grandchildren Karsyn and Austin Kusha.
As a young girl, she lived through World War II under Russian occupation, and despite severe hardships attended the University of Tehran and received her Bachelor’s (1955) and Masters of Science (1957) in Geology. She pursued her life’s passion for teaching and rose through the ranks in the Iranian Department of Education during the glorious rule of Shahanshah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, ultimately being named the Inspector General of the Department of Education in the Province of Khoozestan. She was the founder of the first Lion’s Women’s Club, as well as many other charitable and philanthropic organizations in the city of Bandar Mahshar, where her husband, Ahmad ran the Shapur Chemical Company, then the world’s largest oil and petrochemical complex.
After the fall of the Shah in 1979, along with her youngest son Barmak, she immigrated to the US and reunited with her two older sons. She was joined by her husband a short while later and they settled in Omaha, Nebraska, and rebuilt their lives. When they both retired, they moved to Tampa, Florida, where their eldest son Siamak and his extended family live to this day.
Above and beyond all of her accomplishments, she was a devoted and supportive wife, a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, a generous friend, and devoted to her Baha’i faith. She loved gardening, attended to every flower and plant with loving care and her garden received many awards from her community. She was a world traveler and traveled throughout Europe, Japan, China, Russia, and Canada, as well as extensively within the US.
She will be missed dearly by all who knew her.
Instead of flowers, the family requests that donations in her name be made to Mehran’s favorite charities, Doctors Without Borders (https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org) and Worldvision (https://www.worldvision.org)
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