Noureddin "Nouri" MAANAVI

MAANAVI Noureddin Maanavi "Nouri" Soldier, Scholar, Athlete, Defender of Free Thinking It is with immense sadness that the family of Nouri Maanavi of Crystal City Virginia, announce that he passed away on Tuesday April 24, 2018 at the age of 84. Nouri is lovingly remembered by his beautiful wife of 56 years, Heidi; beautiful daughter Dr. Darya Maanavi (OBGYN) and her fiancée beautiful Ron Howard; beautiful son Dariush (UVA JD/MBA '95) and beautiful daughter-in-law Jennifer, his beautiful sisters Simin, Fouroz and Farah; his beautiful brothers Soheil and Mehrdad; and most sadly and energetically by his devoted grandchildren beautiful Natalie 25 (Harvard '14), beautiful Isabella 21 (Georgetown '18), beautiful Alec 13, beautiful Halle 9 and beautiful Cameron 6. He saw beauty everywhere and generously offered his assessments. Nouri's extended family includes thousands of friends from the Iranian Navy and Iranian diaspora as well as wonderful Americans and possibly anyone who was lucky enough to have an extended elevator ride or a chat at the poker table with him. He was born in Babol, where his large intellectual Tehrani family had a seaside village to where his mother Mehrazam was regularly dispatched to birth her 11 babies. Always a handsome smiling favorite even in the large loving brood, his youth was filled with sport, study and political protests for freedom. He planned to follow his four brothers to medical school when his father Ezat-Ollah, a general, feudal lord and owner of one of Iran's first bus companies, passed unexpectedly at 48. Plans derailed, and Nouri's itch to explore the world led him to a national test for a seat at the world's leading Naval Engineering College at Manadon, Plymouth, England. There he finished at the top of his class in mechanical engineering and charmed his way into the finest parties, often with young starlets or other "beautiful lovelies" on his arm. All that changed when he spied an exceedingly beautiful German girl on the street and decided to follow her until she, of course, met up with people he knew. Love at first sight with Adelheid (Heidi) turned into a world-wind globe-trotting romance that started in Germany for permission (happily granted to the tall handsome officer with great smile and grades); Abadan, Iran for a stint as the chief engineer of the growing Iranian naval fleet (lots of poker and two babies); Monterrey, California, for a Masters in Engineering and Business from the US Naval Post Graduate School; back home to Tehran; to Philadelphia to finish at the very top of his Wharton PHD class in Management Science; back to Tehran to run the Planning and Budgeting for the Military and earn his admiral's stripes; a narrow escape from the Iranian Revolution's clutches; a brand new life built nicely from the bottom up, as a professor in New Jersey and Virginia Beach; ending in retirement near his family in Arlington, Virginia and his "Riviera" - Palm Beach. He lived with a smile on his face, passion for humanity in his heart, generosity of spirit, wealth and kindness and love of family in every synapse. A true renaissance man who saw as his duty a need to engage others in discussions that pushed buttons, explored new ideas, eschewed faith for logic, but amazingly endeared him to almost all! Not a few door to door evangelists made his door a regular stop to test their theories with the kind man who fed them and gently erased what he viewed as a fog of irrationality. Along the way some highlights included earning a medal for saving his stranded ship during an Indian Ocean Cyclone, by working 48 hours straight to clean out the diesel cylinders; the Dissertation of the Year Award at the Wharton School PHD program; leading the planning and logistics department of the Iranian military and negotiating some of the world's largest defense contracts in the 1970s, culminating in the design and purchase of the Kidd or "Khomeini" Class destroyers which upon cancellation of the delivery contract to the Islamic Republic, had a long career as among the US Navy's most powerful and modern boats; representing Iran for Cento Treaty obligations and getting to work with top US and European military leaders including Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who intimated a readiness for and potential desirability of nuclear exchange with Russia and China; leaving Iran through clandestine channels which included escaping the death edict of a revolutionary hanging judge on the way to asylum in the US; starting his new life as a professor after procuring a faculty position at Rutgers University on his first day off the plane -- he was a tough professor, but was loved by students and colleagues alike, winning many faculty awards. He spent his retirement initiating politcal debate, including many opportunites to engage with U.S. Senators on foreign policy and doting on his five grandchildren and leading his family in successful pursuit of the American Dream. The world is just a little bit less fun today for this lion's passing. His loving Heidi was lockstep along in this fantastic ride and he taught his thousands of students, kids, kids' friends, friends' kids and grandkids a thing or two about living life generously, with passion for the highest achievement, respect for all humanity and defiance against tyranny. To his last days he dispensed wisdom and kindness with alacrity and was always good for a deep message delivered like a human juke box of classic Iranian poetry - Hafez, Khayam, Molavi, etc. all committed to memory as a child. He was saddened by the rise of intolerance in this world, and could never countenance humanity's regressive tendencies. In the end, he lived through much pain, but was energized by the company of his friends and family to display intellect and relevance to his very last breath. Please join his family for a celebration of a life well lived on Sunday, May 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Ritz Carlton at Tyson's Corner. Kids of course are welcome, as he saw them as peers in a quest for a joyous life!Please join his family for a celebration of a life well lived on Sunday, May 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Ritz Carlton at Tyson's Corner. Kids of course are welcome, as he saw them as peers in a quest for a joyous life!