Behrooz Bruce Tavakkol

He was loved and will always be remembered by many. To know him was to love him.

There is no night without a dawning

No winter without a spring

And beyond the dark horizon

Our hearts will once more sing…

For those who leave us for a while

Have only gone away

Out of a restless, care worn world

Into a brighter day.

The golden light that was Behrooz “Bruce” Tavakkol was born to Zara Sara Mehralian Kramer and Saeed Tavakkol on July 8, 1982 in Tehran, Iran. The light and joy that he emitted was felt by all the moment he arrived here on Earth. One year after his arrival, Behrooz “Bruce” Tavakkol left Iran with his mom and little sister to come to the United States. His father arrived shortly afterwards. His aunt/Khaleh Mehry was overjoyed to be reunited with his mom and her nephew and niece, as she was already in the US. Khaleh Mehry was to play a pivotal role in Behrooz and his sister’s life, always providing love, support, and merriment. While his mom and dad got busy figuring out the new country they were in, Behrooz got busy learning about all the wondrous things around him.

Behrooz was a leader from the first moment he stepped foot into school. He was adept at convincing children and adults to follow his lead. People were eager to follow him as his million-watt smile led the way. His charm, intelligence, and wit only added to his allure and persuasiveness. Behrooz could “charm the pants off” everyone he met. Along with the natural gifts he possessed, Behrooz had a tender and kind heart. He was always a family person, and he loved nothing more than bringing his family together to spend time with them.

As a child, he enjoyed playing with his action figures and creating elaborate scripts where they battled to the death. He later became enamored with Zorro and Batman. His sister quickly became familiar with him running around the house, saying he was Zorro and leaving cryptic messages for her decipher. The Batman phase lasted throughout his life as he felt Batman was a kindred spirit that had to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders in the dark alone. He channeled his warrior spirit as a child when he went to karate classes. He advanced to a blue belt and placed second in a national competition.

As he continued to grow, Behrooz enjoyed popular culture and entertainment. He loved listening and dancing to Michael Jackson. Behrooz learned to moonwalk and could glide effortlessly backwards. He also became enamored with learning magic tricks. He frequently asked his mom or aunt Mehry to drive him to the magic store, Queen of Hearts, that was in downtown Plano so he could buy magic tricks with his allowance. Behrooz was able to quickly learn tricks and astonish others. In fact, Behrooz was a magician throughout his life. With his formidable intelligence, he was able to mystify others easily. In elementary school, his science teacher was astonished that he was able to make A’s even though he was falling asleep or distracted in class. She mentioned to his mom that he should be placed in a program for academically-gifted children. His mom heeded her recommendation, and Behrooz was placed in the gifted and talented program at the magnet school Kimberlin Academy for Excellence for fifth grade.

As he grew, he also mystified others with music. He loved listening to music from all genres and became a music virtuoso. His parents purchased a piano, and he was so gifted that he didn’t even need sheet music to play. He had memorized how to play various classical songs and would play them whenever his heart desired, often surprising his family. Behrooz also taught himself to play the guitar and would often play songs he wrote.

As Behrooz grew into his teens, he would prove to be precocious, part teenager and part wise old man. In regard to his teenager side, as only a good teenage brother would do, he tormented his sister, Peggy, with the smallest, most painful pinches she ever felt in her life. The only thing his beloved sister could do was scream to get him in trouble. Like many times in his life, though, his wit and charm could convince his parents, among others, to lessen or to forgo punishment. Of course, Behrooz was not only mischievous within the four walls of his home. He had plenty of friends to be rambunctious with. This included the friends he had in his neighborhood while living in Plano, and the friends he had made at high school. These friendships would continue throughout his lifetime, and his close group of friends considered Behrooz as their brother. Behrooz was a connoisseur of the finer things in life and introduced his friends and family to a multitude of beautiful things he enjoyed in the areas of food, film, music, and fashion. In all these categories, his tastes were broad in scope and included a multitude of esoteric choices.

Behrooz loved mashed potatoes with as much heavy cream as you can get, prosciutto, and salumi. At the same time, he LOVED McDonald’s. The draw to McDonald’s was strong throughout his life. His go to order was the quarter pounder with cheese. To finish the meal, he would often order a baked apple pie. He loved the films “The 400 Blows” and “The Godfather”, but he also loved “South Park” and “The Simpsons.” In terms of music, he enjoyed such a wide range of genres that it is impossible to capture here, but Dave Matthews Band always had a special place in his heart. It is safe to say he attended at least thirty DMB concerts. Also, Behrooz was always dapper; his peers admired his style.

As was only natural to someone who was as talented as Behrooz, he was the class vice president at Plano East Senior High School, class of 2000. Behrooz graduated in the International Baccalaureate program, a rigorous course of study that is both academically challenging and comprehensive in scope. He became fluent in Spanish and often helped his family communicate with native Spanish speakers who were not fluent in English. Even with all the partying and debauchery, Behrooz was a member of the chess club at Plano East. He often stayed after school to play chess.

Growing up in Behrooz’s household was never dull. Friends would come over frequently to play pool and gamble. It was always a party where it could easily go from five of his buddies to a gathering of twenty people. Behrooz and his “brothers” went on multiple trips together including Cancun, South Padre Island, and Bavaria. And the girlfriends were plentiful. Behrooz was into working out and pumping iron. His body was chiseled, and he liked to show it off. Truly the man had the looks and brains – a lethal combination to the ladies.

Upon graduation from Plano East, Behrooz made up his mind to attend the University of Texas at Austin. He relished his time in Austin, partying on 6th Street and, of course, meeting and dating numerous women. Behrooz also became acquainted with rock climbing and took to the sport with gusto. He frequently went to E-rock, aka Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, in nearby Fredericksburg to boulder and rock climb. Behrooz was able to tackle some of the most challenging routes there, as well as at McKinney Falls State Park, due to his relentless practicing. When not outside bouldering or rock climbing, he could be found hanging from a climbing hangboard he had installed above his bedroom door frame.

Behrooz entered his freshman year as Pre-Med, but quickly changed his major to Radio-Television-Film. He stated that it was more a match for his soul as he had plenty of stories he wanted to share with others. During his time at UT, he created several short films, screenplays, and stories. For one of his final class projects, he had the joy of seeing his short film “Isaac” play on the big screen in the auditorium on campus. His sister, Peggy, could not have been prouder as she sat in the audience beside him to watch it.

It was during his college years that Behrooz began to experience psychosis. At the time, it was very hard for his family and friends to understand what was occurring and to reach the understanding that it was due to a mental illness. He retreated frequently and evaded questions about why he behaved in manners that were uncharacteristic of him. He struggled to finish college, but he was consistently encouraged and supported by his family to continue.

In 2006, Behrooz graduated with a degree in Radio-Television-Film. Shortly after graduation, he worked at Dell in sales. Throughout his life, Behrooz was successful at salesmanship and was able to convince others to buy whatever he was selling. He also worked in his field doing post-production film work when living in Dallas. For the next seventeen years, Behrooz struggled with severe mental health issues and was diagnosed with a schizophrenic disorder by mental health professionals. It was very difficult to watch him struggle with the effects of the disorder when his behavior or speech showed that he was thinking and responding differently. As the disorder progressed, he had a lack of motivation to do the things that he once enjoyed. Behrooz also had difficulty making decisions that weren’t harmful to his well-being.

The crux of the disorder was that Behrooz’s brain told him that he did not have any problems. Whenever he encountered hardships, Behrooz reached out to his closest buddies and they provided him with help, a true testament to how much he was loved. His family always included Behrooz in family gatherings and tried to maintain contact with him. Even with the hardships he was facing daily, glimmers of Behrooz’s playful nature would break through. His love was ever-present and shared with family and friends.

Behrooz continued to express his creativeness through writing three stories, ranging from twenty pages to eighty pages in length. These stories not only depict his playfulness and intelligence, but also his tender heart. Besides these stories, Behrooz continued to write down ideas he had for future storytelling in a small notebook he always carried. Additionally, he created a few paintings that clearly communicated to the viewer what he was feeling, even though he had no formal artistic training.

On one notable occasion, Behrooz saved the day on Peggy’s wedding day in 2012, when Peggy’s husband, Olaf, forgot to bring his dress shoes and was still wearing his house slippers. With the family being consumed with wedding hecticness, Behrooz volunteered to go to Olaf and Peggy’s home to get his dress shoes, an errand that required driving more than one hour each way, to bring them to Olaf.

In the last seventeen years of his life, his primary contact with family was through his stepdad, Bradley Kramer, whom he called dad. Left with decades of fond and colorful memories are everyone he leaves behind, including his sister Pegah Peggy Tavakkol, whom he was fiercely protective of. She could have asked for no better brother than him. He also leaves behind his mom, dad, and stepfather Bradley Kramer. Additionally, he leaves behind his five beloved cousins and three beloved aunts on his mother’s side of the family, whom he grew up and was close with, and family on his biological dad’s side of the family. Behrooz had a particularly strong bond with his aunt/khaleh Mehry, Mehry Cornett, as she was integrally involved in raising and having enjoyable times with Behrooz and his sister, Peggy. Behrooz was predeceased by his grandparents on his mother and father’s side of the family.

In true Behrooz fashion, after reading this long obituary, I implore you to explore the depths of your passions and be open to all the possibilities of the universe while eating a cheeseburger from McDonald’s. To honor his memory, donations may be sent to: National Alliance for Mental Illness and/or Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC). A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, July 2, at Ted Dickey West Funeral Home, 7990 W President George Bush Hwy, starting at 2 PM. A sit-down dinner will be served as Behrooz enjoyed nothing more than people getting together. Please wear whatever color you wish, but attire should be business casual or formal. Everybody has a Behrooz story, and we would love to hear them all. Please share your memories of Behrooz at the celebration of life or send a condolence to his family on this website. As Behrooz would say when he departed, "God Bless.”

Please no children under the age of 10. If attending the catered reception, an RSVP to: [email protected] would be greatly appreciated for planning purposes. Thank you.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.teddickeywestfuneral.com.