Josephiena S. Behroozi

1929 - 2015
Josephiena S. Behroozi, beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and friend; generous volunteer; librarian, died at home on November 8 at the age of 86. The cause was a stroke.

Born Josephiena (Fien) Sophia Landa on May 16, 1929 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Fien was the youngest of four children. Her father was a successful businessman and her mother, Jewish, was a homemaker. The comfort and security of her early childhood was upended by the Second World War and her later childhood years were marked by wartime hardships and the sadness of losing family and friends in concentration camps.

After the war, Fien's adventurous spirit blossomed. She received a degree from a local teacher's college, but decided to see more of the world before embarking on a career. Her first stop was New York, in 1952, where for two years she sampled life among Greenwich Village bohemians and international students, alternating with resort summer jobs outside the city. During that time she met her future husband Darius, an Iranian man, at the New School for Social Research and eventually moved with him to Tehran, living there for several years. There she worked at the British Embassy library, where she was able to hone both her English and Farsi language skills. The couple moved back to the New York area in 1958.

They settled in New Jersey, and Fien (then known as Nahid, a name she adopted in Iran) raised their three children in Hightstown. She was an active member of the community, working in both the public library and the local schools, volunteering with the March of Dimes, tutoring adults in basic reading skills, and giving her time as a Cub Scout den mother. A devoted educator and life-long learner, she went back to school at age 52, earning a graduate degree in library science from Rutgers University. Afterward, she worked as a reference librarian at the Lawrence (NJ) Public Library until retiring in 1991.

Fien remained very active in retirement. She lived with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren in Brooklyn. Oma, as she was known to her grandsons and neighbors in her Park Slope community, continued her tradition of giving, as a volunteer in the PS 282 library and as the "book lady" at Methodist Hospital. She could often be found strolling the neighborhood, working out at the local gym, or having a cup of coffee at a 7th Avenue café. She was an avid knitter and Scrabble player throughout her life.

She is survived by her children, Mitra and son-in-law Chris Renaud, Hormoz and daughter-in-law Cecile Chong, all in Brooklyn, and Cyrus and son-in-law Thomas Natan, Jr. of Washington, DC; grandsons Daro Behroozi and Cory Behroozi of Brooklyn; sister Henrietta Landa of Rotterdam, Holland; and brother-in-law Hooshang Behroozi of New York. Memorial contributions may be made to the Medicare Rights Center or The Dream.US