Maryam Farzanegan, RIP - "Deeply Committed to Social Justice and Human Rights" : Mehr and John Williams

John and I are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of Maryam’s sudden death. On her way to meet friends, her life was snuffed out on the road allegedly by a drunk driver. I am told she died instantly and was spared the pain of knowing who killed her.I have known Maryam since 1998 when she came to work with us in Florence. Every contact with her especially when we stopped working together, was a joy! Maryam had a wonderful sense of humor and was a good story teller. Always fun to be with. She was a serious professional colleague, deeply committed to social justice and human rights. Her own focus was child rights especially the right to health.

Her other side was her love of fun, music and art. Deeply imbued with the best of the Persian tradition, Mariam was self-effacing, generous to a fault, warm, and very loving. She had many, many friends, and I was fortunate to be among them. We will miss her sorely.

I painted this picture of poppies for her at her request because she loved poppies. If you have the space please publish it as a tribute to her.

Some additional photos of Maryam. The one where she has her arms up, is of Maryam pretending to be a Joshua tree.  It was taken in the Joshua Tree National Park in California.