Mehdad and Diane came to Shiraz for work with their two beautiful young daughters before the Iranian revolution. As I was friends with Mehrdad's sister, Shiva, I had the privilege of meeting and knowing their wonderful family. Both Shiva and Mehrdad were very gentle, kind, extremely gifted and talented (all the Arjomand family are).

My husband was on short-term sabbatical leave in Australia from his University in Shiraz but due to the revolution our family ended up staying there, when after a few years we received a letter from Mehrdad saying that they are planning to move to Australia and we were happy to be able to help them with obtaining their visa’s.

We weren't able to see them for many years as they lived in Sydney and we are in Perth, until finding out just now that our dear Mehrdad has passed away to the Abha Kingdom.

Nina Mavaddat and family

My Uncle Merhrdad was a truly remarkable man. When I was about 7 years old he bought me a tiny gold ring for my birthday which made me feel very special as he took me to a jeweller's shop to purchase it.
He also introduced me to Beethoven and Tchaikovsky by whistling the first few lines of their violin sonatas. I had to listen and then try to whislte or hum the tunes back to him. He came for some music lessons to my piano teacher and charmed her in his own special way. She was an old lady, but her eyes would twinkle every time she said, "And how is your uncle? He is so talented!" This was very true, as he made more progress in a few weeks than I made in a year!
My uncle had the most amazing wit, and sense of humour, and was extremely observant, like Sherlock Holmes, as my Aunt Diane used to say! One day he came to our home and said,"Did Mrs. X visit you today?" We said, "How on earth do you know?" He said, "I can smell her perfume!"
Once when we were all on holiday together, he amazed me by swimming the whole length of the pool under water. He then beat one oponent in chess, another in tennis, and yet another in backgammon.... all in one day! "My dear Uncle Mehrdad," I said with admiration, "Is there anything you can't do?" 

I guess my uncle was like a shooting star: bright, beautiful and luminous enough to lighten the dark sky for a short but memorable time.
Yes, he was truly a remarkable man. 

In December 1999, there was a serious train accident in Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains. My daughter was on the train on her way to school, sitting in her usual seat in the front carriage. All those sitting in front of her were killed. This was a distressing event for the entire Blue Mountains community. Mehrdad attended the memorial service and his calm present and kind words to me at the time helped me to resolve my agitation and nagging thoughts about what might have been.