Mary Rassool

Mary (Mari) Rassool of Virginia Beach, VA passed away peacefully in her home on Thursday January 26, 2023. She passed following a courageous battle with Glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. She was 74. Mari was born on November 12, 1948 in Babol, Iran to wonderful and loving parents Esfandiar Mobedpour and Kobra Jahanian. Upon completing her university education in Tehran with a degree in psychology, she returned to her hometown where she worked with the Babol Public Health Services. After marrying her husband, Mohammad (Parviz) Rassool, she moved to Philadelphia, PA while he finished his training as an Internist. There they celebrated the birth of their first son, Arteen. Following the completion of medical training, they moved back to Babol to be surrounded by their loving family and friends and welcomed a daughter, Sherin, into the world. Although they enjoyed their time starting a family back home, they made the difficult decision to leave Iran because of the turmoil of Iran’s revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. With incredible courage and hardship, they decided to leave their beloved homeland, eventually settling in Virginia Beach. Soon after, Mari and Parviz’s third child, Cyrus, was born. Mari appreciated how Virginia Beach reminded her of her hometown near the Caspian Sea. She raised her three children while also managing her husband’s medical practice for more than twenty five years, developing a close bond with the patients they served. The family enjoyed many years of a simple and fruitful life surrounded by their wonderful community but always reflected on all their loved ones in Iran and spread across the globe. Mari’s homeland impacted her deeply and developed her interest in history and global affairs. While always appreciative of their wonderful home in the United States, they continued to celebrate and honor Persian culture and history. Mari had a heart of gold and lived her life in selfless dedication to her family, friends and anyone in need. She had a thirst for life and her greatest joy was spending time with family, especially her grandchildren. In more recent times she enjoyed playing with her “grand dog”, Nell, and sneaking her food! She was the best Persian cook this side of Tehran and extremely kind and thoughtful. All it took was a mention of liking a dish she made, and soon a container of it would end up on your doorstep. She loved surrounding herself in the beauty of nature from her favorite tree at every corner to her beautiful garden. She had a sharp eye for design whether in flower arrangements, home decoration and her own personal style. She loved her sudoku challenges, playing ping pong, doing yoga, Zumba, riding her bike, and going for long walks. For those that were lucky enough to know her, Mari will live on as a role model and example of all the best qualities in a person. Mari is survived by her mother, Kobra, husband of 49 years, Parviz and their children, Arteen, Sherin, and Cyrus. She also leaves behind her daughter-in-law, Lynette Santiago, son-in-law John Conery, Cyrus’ partner, Christina Avalos; and her grandchildren, Ava, Aidan, Liam, and Norah; as well as her two sisters, Fatemeh and Bahareh, her brother Shahriar and their loving families. She was preceded in death by her treasured father, Esfandiar and adored older brother, Khashayar. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following causes: the National Brain Tumor Society or to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. (please look below to find links to the donation pages.)