Said Fariabi

Our amazing father and husband, Said Fariabi, was born on October 26, 1950 in Tehran, Iran. He married Shahrzad in April 1980. They moved to the United States in 1990 and settled in San Antonio to raise their children. After a long and hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer, Said passed away on July 9, 2022, in his daughter’s home surrounded by family. We miss him dearly but feel peace knowing that now he can rest.

Said is survived by his wife, Shahrzad Fariabi; mother, Ghodsi Fariabi; daughter, Samira Thompson, and son-in-law, Jeremy Thompson; son, Sepand Fariabi, and daughter-in-law, Ersa Fariabi; his granddaughters, Arezou Thompson and Stella Fariabi; and siblings, Sepehr Fariabi (brother), Soheila Faryabi (sister), and Siamak Fariabi (brother).

Said is preceded in death by his father, Hamid Fariabi.

Said had many educational accomplishments starting with his B.Sc. in mathematics from Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran in 1973. From there he went on to achieve his M.S. in mathematics from Oklahoma State University in 1976 and his Doctorate of Education in 1979, with emphasis in mathematics, with thesis titled, “Sturmian Theory for Non-Selfadjoint Systems on the nth Order Differential Equation”.

An accomplished educator, Said authored books on Elementary Algebra and Differential Equations in Iran in the mid-1980s. He also published articles in peer-reviewed journals and reviewed mathematics textbooks in the United States since the 1990s. Said taught at the University of Texas San Antonio beginning in 1990 and at San Antonio College in 1994.

Excelling at his passion, Said was promoted to Chair of the Mathematics Department, San Antonio College from 2005 onwards, and continued as the Chair of the combined Mathematics, Architecture, Physics and Engineering departments at San Antonio College from 2016-2020. Said was honored as the first recipient of the Alamo Colleges District-San Antonio College Equity and Excellence Award in 2020.

When Said wasn’t educating, he enjoyed time on or near the water, especially on the beach at South Padre Island or on any fishing charter or cruise. He was forever in search of another good IPA beer and for the best cheeseburger in San Antonio, and he would always include his colleagues, family, and friends in those outings.

Said always maintained a positive outlook on life and embraced any opportunity for travel and adventure. He was considerate and available to his colleagues and friends and was extremely dedicated to his career and taking care of his students.

Said will be remembered for his commitment to his active lifestyle, his high standard for his personal hygiene and the cleanliness of his home, all of which he passed on to his children; his beautiful smile, his great attitude and outlook on life, his endless love for his two beautiful granddaughters; his willingness to help everyone and his strength to push forward even on the hardest of days.

A celebration of life will be held in San Antonio, TX later this year to celebrate Said’s amazing life and love for family and friends.

Memorial donations may be sent to Alamo Colleges Foundation, https://giving.alamo.edu/memorial (please select other and type “Dr. Said Fariabi Memorial”).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.SunsetNorthFuneralHome.com for the Fariabi family.