Mahrookh Rita Pelletier

Mahrookh known to many as Marrow was born on October 13, 1930 in Abadan, Iran to Rahim and Mariam Gharabaghli. She always reflected on her childhood with her sister, Sanam and two brothers, Parviz and Reza with fondness. Her mother was a seamstress, which is where Marrow’s love of fashion must have taken root. She was always beautifully made up in makeup and clothes even if it was just to go to the store.

Marrow loved her life in Iran and working for KLM airlines as a Ground Hostess. That was until Al, the love of her life came along. He was a U.S. Navy man stationed in Iran. Al adored Marrow and her family so much that he asked for her hand in marriage. On New Year’s Day of 1963 he brought her to America, where they married on the 10th of January near his parent’s home in Worcester, Massachusetts. For their honeymoon they drove cross-country to San Diego where they made their forever home. Later that year Al was sent to Japan and Marrow went to stay with his parents and gave birth to their daughter, Mariam. Two years later their family grew with the birth of their son, Richard in San Diego.

Marrow’s greatest role in life was motherhood, she treasured her children, daughter and son-in-law, Christyne and Andy and then later her grandsons, Alexander (Mickey) and Elijah (Tyra) and great-grandchildren Landon and Liv. She loved children so much that she opened a small daycare in the 90s for many years and became know as “Grandma Marrow” to many. Caretaking was a gift she learned in her early years as an older sister and Nurse in Iran.

With the loss of her husband in 1980, Marrow found comfort in the local Persian community, which brought her many new lifelong friends and reconnected her to her heritage. She loved hosting parties for her friends, which often included home cooked meals and games of poker.

She was very generous in not only sharing her heart with everyone she met, but she also loved to share her money, any charity that would get a hold of her address would surely get a donation, no matter how much she had, she always gave something.

She lived with so much faith and loved Jesus. Going to church or bible study was a priority to her. She was always loved and welcomed into the community of any church she belonged to, and forged great friendships there acting as “Grandma Marrow” to many more. She was always able to recognize her blessings - she expressed gratitude for these things and each new day through prayer.

Celebrating life, whether it was a Birthday or a Holiday always called for a greeting card from Marrow. Cards were always ornately decorated with fun stickers and filled with sincere wishes for health and happiness. She was always thinking of those she loved.

She truly cared about others, and was grateful for the people that were in her life. These people were her greatest treasure, and she consistently prayed for their protection and happiness. She was selfless and gracious. There was nothing more gratifying to her than sharing time with her loved ones.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in our mother's honor to St. Jude's Hospital, ASPCA or your favorite Children's or Animal Charity.