Mehdi Pakzad M.D.

Mehdi Pakzad, M.D., passed away on February 18, 2015, in Loma Linda, California. Funeral services will be held at Montecito Memorial Park and Mortuary, 3520 E. Washington Street, Colton, CA 92324, on Wednesday, March 4, 2015, at 11:00 am. Burial will follow at 1:00 pm at Riverside National Cemetery 22495 Van Buren Blvd, March Air Reserve Base, CA 92518 Staging area #1. There will be a reception at Montecito Memorial Park hospitality room at 2:00 pm following the burial.

Mehdi Pakzad was born in Tehran, Iran on April 2, 1938 to Ali Akbar Pakzad and Shamsi Sadredini. He finished medical school in Tabriz, Iran and completed a residency in Radiation Therapy in Strasbourg, France in 1970. He immigrated to the United States in 1973.

He began 20 years of service with the United States Navy in 1978. He loved his time in the Navy, especially his many years serving with the Marines. Those were the happiest years of his life. He was deployed for Desert Storm in the first Gulf War in 1990. He also spent many months in Somalia as part of Operation Restore Hope, leading to an admiration and fondness for the strength and kindness of the Somali people.

Mehdi loved to travel the world, often with his daughter, Sabrina. He logged countless hours jogging near his home in Carlsbad, California and entered many 10ks, half-marathons, and marathons. He is remembered for his outgoing personality and his knack for making friends wherever he went.

Mehdi is survived by his son Jason, his daughter Sabrina and his son Alexander, and by grandson, Dylan Pakzad and granddaughter, Andrea Pakzad. He also leaves behind sisters Malak and Mehrie of Tehran, brothers Mahmoud, Morteza, and Mohsen of Tehran, and brother Mostafa of Munich, Germany, as well as his many nieces and nephews in Iran, Germany, and the United States.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the following charities: Fisher House Foundation www.fisherhouse.org, Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust cst.dav.org, or Navy Marine Corps Relief Society www.nmcrs.org.