Masud Mehran

Masud Mehran Resident of Atherton, CA. Masud Mehran passed away November 26th after a short illness at his home in Athertonsurrounded, as he was during his life, by his family. Masud was born in Tehran February 6, 1920 and attended the American College in Tehran. At the age of 22 he married Maryam Ansari, and they immigrated to New York two years later. There, Masud attended Columbia University and Cornell University, from which he graduated with a degree in Agricultural Economics in 1946. Curious to explore their newly adopted country, Masud and Maryam traveled to each of the then 48 states, finally settling in the Montclair neighborhood of Oakland. For Masud, however, "settling" was simply the pause between embarking upon new challenges. Eager to contribute to the dynamic growth of post-war California, Masud founded the Sunset Development Company in 1951 and began building homes in the city of Livermore. After successfully completing several dozen homes, he embarked upon a more ambitions project, developing Livermore's SunsetTown, a community of 4,000 homes, 500 apartments and more than 120,000 square feet of office space. SunsetTown was also home to retail outlets, recreation facilities, churches and schools, and provided attractive, affordable housing for thousands of young professionals working in the city's rapidly growing research and defense facilities. By the 1970s, the Sunset Development Company had become one of the largest homebuilders in California. In 1978, he expanded Sunset's properties by purchasing a 585-acre portion of the Bishop Ranch in San Ramon, helping to launch economic growth in the region that continues to this day. Masud dedicated the next 35 years of his life to the development of Bishop Ranch, transforming an orchard into a vibrant business community comprising more than 10 million square feet of world-class office space and facilities. Today, Bishop Ranch is home to Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike, who together employ more than 35,000 people. The Sunset Development Companyone of the largest owners of commercial office space in California todayis still privately held and family-led. Family was everything to Masud, as was giving back to his community. That's why he was active in a variety of industry and community organizations with far reaching benefits for the entire San Francisco Bay Region. He was past President of the Associated Home Builders of the Bay Area, Trustee of the Urban Land Institute; member of Lambda Alpha; member of the Board of Trustees of Golden Gate University; member of the Board of Directors of the Children's Hospital; member of the Executive Board of Boy Scouts of America; member of the Advisory Board for the Center of Real Estate and Urban Economics/Fisher Center for Real Estate (University of California-Berkeley); Life Director of the National Association of Home Builders; Trustee of the Dominican College; and held an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Golden Gate University. Masud received the Good Scout award for outstanding leadership in helping to build a better American community; the Democratic Heritage award from the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith; and the Award of Excellence from the Urban Land Institute for Large-Scale Office Park Development. After his divorce from Maryam in 1978, Masud married Farideh Eshragi in 1987. The couple had homes in Atherton, San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, where they regularly entertained and enjoyed being with their family and friends. Masud and Farideh often travelled to Hawaii where they loved the warm island breezes and casual lifestyle. Masud loved swimming every day, socializing with his friends and family and enjoyed a scotch and soda at the end of the day. If he could do it all on the beach at Mauna Kea life was indeed perfect. Masud had four children with his first wife, Houri, Casey, Susan and Alex. Three of the fourHouri, Casey and Susanpreceded him in death. Masud had seven grandchildren Diana, Mark, Rawley, Peter and Lacey by his son Casey; and Annabel and Alexander Jr. by his son Alex. He also leaves a stepdaughter, Sharmin Bock and her two children, Fiona and Alastair, and a step-granddaughter, Christina Kew. The family is eternally grateful for the loving support that his physicians, Dr. Martin Broatman and Dr. Homer Bousche, and the nursing staff provided to Masud during the final months of his life. Masud's entire family will miss him very dearly. All who knew him will be forever reminded of the example he gave to so many, and values that guided his life, which will keep his legacy alive forever. A service to celebrate Masud's life will be held on Friday, December 6, at 4:00 o'clock at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, a donation in Masud's name can be made to the Persian Center at University of California, Berkeley, the Contra Costa Food Bank, Cornell University, or the Urban Land Institute Foundation.