Last night my younger sister Michelle sent me a copy of our mother's last will. She passed away in 2004. She was born Shireen Bakhtiar but had changed her name to Radha MacRoberts (long story).
Everything I own, including paintings, jewelry, clothes, furniture, dishes, books, I give to my daughter, Michelle Fulton, to keep or give to my other children, grand-children, or museums as she decides.
My car I give to my son Jahanshah.
I wish to be cremated in a Tao Buddhist ceremony if possible or Hindu and my ashes scattered in the gardens of Shalamzar Bakhtiari (1).
A great meal with a glass of wine should be eaten at the best restaurant and playing of Puccini’s opera La Boheme.
A headstone with “Bakhtiari Rose, Mother, Poet, Artist, 1930 - …” if possible should be placed in graveyard at Hillcrest Cemetery in Weiser (2), Idaho, and Neishapur next to Omar Khayyam and Ferdowsi. Finally to be buried in Paris cemetery du Père Lachaise.
Thank you.
I will love you all forever.
........
(1) Shalamzar is where my mother's father, Abol Ghassem Bakhtiar, was born.
(2) My mother's mother, Helen Jeffreys, was born in Weiser, Idaho.
How beautiful. Where is she buried now? Your family has an interesting story. My brother-in-law Rasool Harandizadeh was the physician of Shalamzar in late 1950s and knew your family very well.He died in 2010 and I wrote a poem for him entitled "The Village Doctor".
Thank you. Her ashes were scattered in the Mediterranean near the east coast of Spain where she was living for the last couple of years of her life.
Touching and Beautiful
Dearest JJ,
This brought tears to my eyes.
I had the honor of exchanging thoughts with her in the early days of Iranian dot com.
Bless her soul you are a good son !
You are kind Dariush Jan.