Parisima Nour

Parisima Bahi Nour was born on December 8, 1930 to Alimuhammad Bahi

and Ghamar Rohani Bahi in Tehran, Iran. In those days many babies died

from dehydration and when beautiful little Pari was born they prayed to

God and did all they could to ensure that she would make it. Through her

whole childhood she was adored and coddled. A previously born daughter

had passed away and had left a big hole in her parents’ hearts. Therefore

they were constantly concerned with Pari’s health and wellbeing.

Her mother, Ghamar, was very educated and taught geography in primary

school. Her father was the overseer of agricultural work in Kashan south of

Tehran.

Her mother’s family was wealthy.and descended from an illustrious Baha’i

woman, Hawwa Umm ul-Ulya, meaning “Mother of all Mothers,” who

received a Tablet and that title from Bahá’u’lláh for her work in feeding the

persecuted Baha’is in Tehran during the famine of 1871 and also for her

work leading a group of Baha’i women who taught the new Faith to the

women of the city, supplied food to the Baha’is being held prisoner by the

government, and took the Baha’i prisoner’s clothes to wash and return. The

brave women also presented petitions on behalf of Baha’i prisoners and

recovered their bodies after execution.

Her father’s family also goes back to the early days of the Faith. Pari’s

grandfather was a devout follower of the Baha’i Faith but kept it a secret

from his children because he wanted them to independently investigate and

embrace the faith on their own. Her father embraced the faith when he

attended a Baha'i meeting at a young age and surprisingly saw his father in

that meeting. Shortly after, he was instrumental in teaching his 3 sisters, 2

brothers and mother who all became Baha’is. The older sister later had a

son who became the youngest Hand of the Cause, Dr. Rahmatu’llah

Muhajir.

Pari had a happy childhood. She was very generous and was known for

treating her friends to ice cream. Whenever she asked for money, her

father would say, “Go to my wallet and take what you want.” But

sometimes he went to his wallet to find little left! All gone for entertaining

her friends! That love for entertaining the ones she loved never left her.

Pari had several siblings that did not survive past infancy, but had one older

sister, Simin Bahi Hawley, and one younger brother Houshmand (Hushi)

Bahi, who survived, but are now both deceased. All had very different

personalities and talents. Pari was musically gifted. She went to

elementary school up to 8th grade and then attended The Academy of

Music in Tehran and was known to have a lovely voice.

At the age of 15 she married Nosratollah Nour, an agricultural engineer and

entomologist employed by the government. As was the custom of that time,

the marriage was arranged by her family. Nosrat was handsome, a good

provider, had a good education and a good job, and was building the house

they would eventually live in.

She said that she had never learned how to cook before she married and

Nosrat taught her. At age of 16, they were blessed with their first child, a

beautiful girl named Roya, always happy and smiling but a fussy eater,

followed three years later by a son, Ramin, who, she said, did not sleep a

wink at night unless her and the nanny would bounce him up and down in

their arms. Ramin was followed seven years later by another daughter,

little May (Mimi), who was quite strong and walking at 6 months old!

When Ramin and Roya were young, the family pioneered to Austria with

other members of their family. They later returned to Tehran where

Nosrat was promoted to a higher post.

Pari quickly learned to cook delicious Persian dishes and could put together

a meal for unexpected guests that Nosrat would often bring home. She

made all of the children’s clothes and as a hobby she started learning the

accordion. At that time she was invited to join a choral group in the

Ministry of Art and Performance. She loved singing and performing with

the chorus.

The kids grew up and left the nest - Roya marrying at 17, Ramin leaving for

America at 16 and May coming to America to live with her Aunt Simin and

go to school when she was 12.

With the kids gone, she became a soloist for the Royal Opera and eventually

was offered a scholarship to study opera in Vienna for the refinement of

her operatic voice. She studied in Vienna for two years and then returned

to Tehran where she continued to sing for the Royal Opera with lead roles

in many productions such as Hansel and Gretal, Carmen, Lady Butterfly

and more.

Upon Nosrat’s retirement, they traveled throughout Europe together before

they eventually moved to Florida to be close to her sister, Simin and her

husband Don. They then moved to California, buying a house in El Toro

(later known as Lake Forest) to be close to her best childhood friend, Zoya

Khalili and her family. Their time in El Toro was a happy time with family

get-togethers every weekend when she prepared delicious meals or the

family would have picnics on beautiful Laguna Beach.

When the Iranian Revolution started in 1979, Pari did not hesitate to fly to

Iran and bring Roya and her two children, Ney and Bonyad, to the United

States to live with her and Nosrat. Pari described the chaos in the streets of

Tehran and how very scary it all was. Roya, Ney and Bonyad lived with Pari

until Roya’s husband, Hamid, was able to come and they then settled in

Houston, Texas. That was a difficult time for all Iranians here in the U.S. as

they said good-bye to Iran as they had known it.

Soon other grandchildren came on the scene (Nason, Anisa, Ari, Shabnam,

Samaan and Ashkon). Pari Joon was always there to babysit and help take

care of all of them. She was a loving grandma and had a great talent for

getting the babies to eat really big amounts of food! (The secret was huge

bites!) Of course she also had a lovely voice for singing lullabies to them.

They moved to Diamond Bar to be close to May, and during this time she

started attending classes to explore new directions for herself, Optometry

and Physical Therapy Assistant training. While working as a PT assistant

she met one of her dearest friends, Zari, an RN who actually helped our

family take care of her on the night that she passed.

In 2005, Pari’s husband, Nosrat passed away and Pari moved to a lovely

condo in Lake Forest close to Brenda and Ramin. But she was not alone.

She had many beloved pets. Pari always had a dog, sometimes a cat, or

birds, or even a huge aquarium of fish. Till the end, she loved feeding the

songbirds outside and watching them nest in her birdhouses.

She also loved flowers and plants and definitely had a green thumb as her

house plants thrived and grew to huge sizes!

Pari Joon also had a natural sense of style and fashion which was always

evident in her dress and hairstyles till the end of her life. Even in her last

hours she looked beautiful!

Pari Joon loved electronics and was pretty techy even in her senior years.

She often drove her family nuts by trying to rearrange electronic

components and needing help to get them straightened out. Speaking of

rearranging, she also loved to rearrange furniture. She had always been

strong and would try to move things by herself. She would never wait for

anyone to come over to help her when the urge struck. This was even when

she was using a walker. She would load something onto her walker and

push it to where she wanted, to the family’s consternation when they

learned what she had done!

Pari Joon had her share of aches and pains with two knee replacements,

one hip replacement and back surgery. She was an absolute champ at her

physical therapy sessions and always made great progress much faster than

was expected. During her younger days, she was a very good tennis and

ping pong player, even playing ping pong while she was pregnant with Roya

and playing tennis while pregnant with Ramin.

In her last years, Pari Joon moved to San Clemente just down the hill from

Brenda and Ramin. She loved cooking for the family as long as she was

able. Sundays were her favorite days, when Ramin, Brenda, May, Warren

would come and bring dinner or help her cook. Occasional guests included

Shahram, the son of her dear childhood friend, Zoya. After dinner there

was always a game of Gin Rummy, which she loved and often won. She

somehow always got the lucky jokers. Her mind remained sharp,

remembering what was in the pile, and she calculated her points quickly!

Pari passed this earthly life on March 23, 2023 at the age of 92. She is

survived by her son, Ramin, 2 daughters, Roya and May; 8 grandchildren,

Ney, Bonyad, Nason, Anisa, Ari, Shabnam, Samaan, and Ashkon; and seven

great-grandchildren, Vanessa, Olivia, Cooper, Genevieve, Willem, Elliott

and Maya. Our Pari Joon will be loved and remembered by all of them.