Mohsen Pazirandeh Obituary

Mohsen Pazirandeh passed away on January 26th from Alzheimer's disease and complications of pneumonia at the age of 88.

His extraordinary life began in Hamadan, Iran, one of 8 children born to Rahim and Zahra Pazirandeh. His early life was one of extreme poverty and abounding love. He was able to obtain a strong early education as a scholarship student at a local Christian school, which allowed him to pursue his passion for mathematics. He was awarded a prestigious scholarship from the Shah of Iran to study in the United States and was able to attend UC Berkeley. He studied Mathematics, obtaining Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Berkeley and a PhD from UCLA. His academic career continued at Carnegie Mellon University and as a professor at the University of Texas, where he also earned a second PhD. He then moved into aerospace engineering, working as a contractor for the US military in supercomputing. Later in life he was involved in the Denver real estate market.

He was married to Donnamae Uglem Pazirandeh for almost 62 years, a partnership that gave him life-long love and companionship. Together they welcomed their family and friends into a home filled with great warmth and great food.

Mohsen was a man of many passions that he loved to share- food, wine, games, racquetball, silly jokes, crossword puzzles, gardening, and collecting Moser glass. He was known for his gracious hospitality and delicious Persian cooking. Every summer he would share the bounty from his garden and orchards with friends and family with great pride.

He will be greatly missed by all, especially the family that he loved so dearly- his wife Donni, daughter Anahita (Russell) Kemp, and grand-daughters Ariana and Isabella. He had very close relationships with his brothers and sisters, Karim (Parvaneh), Mahmood (Parvin), Ali (Shahlah), Hossein (Saeedeh), Aghdass, Reza (Irene) and Fati, who were an invaluable source of support and friendship. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews and grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and a large extended family who gave him great joy.

Those who were lucky enough to know him will remember him for the wisdom he shared, his generosity and the life changing impact he had on their lives.

He truly lived the American dream, immigrating to a place that had the political and economic foundations that allowed him to pursue his passions and use his intellectual gifts to shape and live the life he wanted and leave a lasting legacy for his family.

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver.