MUSAD MEHRAN

MEHRAN--Masud, passed away November 26th after a short illness at his home in Atherton, California-- surrounded, 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. 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-- eventually developing SunsetTown, one of the largest and most successful residential real estate projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1978, Masud expanded Sunset's properties by purchasing a 585 acre portion of the Bishop Ranch in San Ramon. Over the next 35 years he transformed an orchard into a vibrant business community comprising more than 10 million square feet of world-class office space and facilities. Masud was active in a variety of industry and community organizations with far reaching benefits for the entire San Francisco Bay Region. These include The Urban Land Institute, Golden Gate University, Oakland's Children's Hospital, The Boy Scouts of America, and countless others. 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 had four children with his first wife, Houri, Casey, Susan and Alex. Three of the four--Houri, Casey and Susan--preceded 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. All who knew Masud Mehran 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 4:00pm 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.