SAYYID A. KHATAMI

KHATAMI--Sayyid A., Died peacefully at home in New York City on Friday, January 13, 2012 after a brief illness. Abul Khatami was born just outside Isfahan, Iran. The estimated date is 1918 due to the lack of birth records. His first memory there was surviving a cholera epidemic from which his mother died. He moved to Isfahan with his father, a religious leader, and they shared a home with a large extended family. His open-minded father had him educated at an English school, Stuart Memorial College. He excelled at math, and graduated early in order to teach there. He subsequently graduated from the University of Tehran. Later, Abul was drafted into the Iranian army, and in the chaos that followed the British sponsored coup against the pro German Shah of Iran (Reza Shah Pahlevi) in 1941; he briefly became acting police chief of Tehran. These circumstances ultimately led to his emigration to the United States. Just after WWII Abul embarked on a journey around the world by sea, finally arriving in San Francisco in 1947, and continuing on to New York, where continued his studies in English and Asian cultures at Columbia University. He completed his Masters degree at the Asia Institute, where he met another student, Marie Hoguet. They were married in 1951 and moved to Chicago where Abul pursued doctoral studies at the University of Chicago. After his return to New York, he became a U.S. citizen, and an anthropology teacher at the American Museum of Natural History, working with Margaret Mead. Abul and Marie raised their four children in Manhattan. Abul is survived by Marie Norton of Manhattan, Jim Khatami of San Francisco, Renee Khatami of Manhattan, Jessie K. Wallen of Del Mar, California, and grandchildren Christopher Khatami, Patrick Norton, Sophie and Emme MacArthur, and John and Jim Wallen. He was buried in Easthampton, New York with his late wife. Contributions may be made in his memory to The Explorers Club, where a memorial will be held at a later date. East or West, it doesn't matter now because you are in paradise. We will miss your wisdom, poetry, laugh, and love.