Parveen Bakhtiar McNair

Parveen Bakhtiar McNair, age 92, of Annapolis, Maryland passed away on Monday, November 4, 2024 with all of her surviving children and four of eleven grandchildren by her bedside . Parveen was born in Tehran, Iran, on January 23, 1932, to loving parents, Dr. Abol Ghassem Bakhtiar, M.D. of Borugen, Iran and Helen Jeffreys Bakhtiar, RN of Weiser, Idaho.

Until the age of 14 she was raised in Masjid-Sulayman with her siblings. She moved to Washington, D.C. with her family in 1946 and attended Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School as member of Class of 1950. In 1949 she met the love of her life, former Naval Officer, Frederick Vallette McNair, III at Kenwood Country Club and married that same year in Rockville, MD. They raised their six children in Chevy Chase Village, MD where they enjoyed tennis at Columbia Country Club, Landon School, and worshiped at All Saints Church.

Parveen loved traveling with her children to local and regional tennis tournaments, and to their team matches at the Landon School, the Severn School, McDonogh, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the U. S. Naval Academy. She was a life-long swimmer, and loved designing and working in her ornamental garden daily. Parveen was also an accomplished professional artist, studying under William Calfee, Director of American University Art Department, and acclaimed portrait artist Guy Fairlamb, of Georgetown, D.C. Her impressionist paintings in oil and in acrylic on canvas are in private collections throughout the United States. Her award-winning works were exhibited at: International Monetary Fund, French Embassy, Calvert Gallery, Landon School, Columbia and Congressional Country Clubs, and the Baltimore-Washington International Airport Art Gallery. Her file archived in the National Museum of Women in the Arts Clara database for research.

Her vibrant and inspiring paintings were deeply influenced by her childhood in the epic Zagros Mountains, witnessing the weaving of the famous nomadic Bakhtiar tribal rugs, and shepherds and their flocks migrating as depicted in the film, “People of the Wind” (documentary narrated by James Mason). Her symbolic impressionist style was infused with Christian symbols, and was profoundly influenced by the works of the masters: Picasso, Matisse, and van Gogh.

When she moved to Annapolis after the passing of her husband in 2003, she became one of the founding members of the Annapolis Arts Alliance. She also was a member of the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, where one of her works is displayed behind the receptionist desk at their offices. Parveen was an active member of the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel where five generations of McNairs attended since 1853.

She is survived by her children: Frederick Vallette McNair IV, of Annapolis, MD, Lailee McNair Bakhtiar, of Annapolis, MD, Bruce Bakhtiar McNair (Leslie), of Bethesda, MD and Naples, FL, David Duer McNair, of Annapolis, MD, and James Jeffreys McNair, of Annapolis, MD. Parveen is also survived by her wonderful grandchildren: Alexandra Pahlavi McNair Quinn (Don) of Raleigh, NC, Frederick Vallette McNair, V of Arlington, VA, LT Seth Jeffreys McNair, USN of Arlington, VA, Soraya van Dillen Coppolino (Stephen) of Bethesda, MD, Hague Bakhtiar van Dillen (McKenzie) of Woodinville, WA, Marshall Esenwein McNair (Kristin) of Washington, D.C., Bruce Bakhtiar McNair, Jr. (Sheridan) of Brooklyn, NY, Matthew Enoch McNair of Annapolis, MD, and Daniel Malachi McNair of Annapolis, MD, eight great-grandchildren, and many beloved nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Frederick Vallette McNair, III, son John Marshall McNair, and grandchildren: George Frederick McNair, Ian Haislip McNair, Vincent McNair van Dillen, and all six of her siblings: Dr. Lailee Bakhtiar, M.D., Shireen Bakhtiar, Paree Bakhtiar Blair, Dr. Jamshid Bakhtiar, M.D., Dr. Cyrus Bakhtiar, M.D., and Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar, Ph.D.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at the John M. Taylor Funeral Home, 147 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD 21401 from 6 to 8 PM.

Services will be held at the Bay Area Community Church 884 Chesterfield Road, Annapolis MD 21401 on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 1PM.

Contributions in her memory may made to U.S. Naval Academy Foundation @ 301 King George Street, Annapolis, MD 21402 ATTN: Athletic Excellence Fund or the Bay Area Community Church @ 884 Chesterfield Road, Annapolis MD 21401 ATTN: Missions.