Iraj Poostchi

Iraj Poostchi

"On Friday May 30, 2008 Iraj Poostchi, one-time resident of the Bahá’í Community of Guelph in the early 1980's, threw off the chains of this mortal world and winged his flight to the Abha Kingdom.

"Dr. Poostchi was well know and much loved by the Bahá’í Community of Guelph, a community whom he loved dearly and one in which he made special efforts to connect each time he visited. Deeply loved and admired by his immediate family he was also called uncle Iraj to countless others who saw him as a cherished extension of their own families. He was a gentle, forbearing, and steadfast man known for in his devotion, his faith and his love for humanity. Patient and understanding to all, he was a man full of laughter and eternally optimistic...

"Dr. Poostchi received both his Masters and PhD in Agriculture at Cornell University in the United States and pursued advanced research at the University of California, Berkley. He later founded the Department of National (Rural) Development at Shiraz University, Iran and directed its Rural Training Centre, becoming the founder and first director of its Agricultural Experimental Station.

"After the Iranian Revolution in 1978, he and his family moved to the United Kingdom where he continued to be active for the International Bahá’í Community, including development projects in the Americas, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Rabani School in India. He also created the distinguished International Society for Agriculture and Rural Development (ISARD). Through over 40 years of experience in teaching, research and extension in agriculture and rural development in both the developed and developing world, Dr. Poostchi implemented more than 800 projects, programs, experiments and field trials in 25 different countries.

"Dr. Iraj Poostchi, passed away in Reading, United Kingdom at the age of 79, leaving behind his wife Minadokht and three children, Pooneh, Banafsheh, and Ali-Mohammad, who continue to offer their prayers for a deeply missed husband and father."

• Faculty Member, Wilmette Institute