Ali Reza Dadgari's Obituary
Ali Reza Dadgari was born on the 17th of August, 1931 to Gholam Reza and Gol Khatoon in Abadan on Iran’s southwest coast. Ali Reza followed in his father’s footsteps and began working at the oil refinery—the largest in the world at the time—as a teenager. He attended night school to complete the equivalent of a high school diploma and then joined the clerical workforce at the refinery, eventually rising to the position of vice president of human resources. Abadan and the surrounding Khuzestan Province suffered greatly during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) and Ali Reza and his wife were forced to take refuge in Tehran during the war years. They eventually immigrated to the United States to join six of their children who had moved there in the period before and during the 1979 Revolution.Ali Reza was charming and gregarious and his love of socializing and nightlife hardly abated over the years, whether in pre-Revolution Iran, Germany, or the US. Ali Reza was also exceedingly devoted to his children and grandchildren and was deeply loved in turn. He and his wife, Golriz Khatami, married as teenagers and their loving and profound connection lasted an almost unfathomable seven decades, which saw them raise seven children and move a world away from their beloved home.Ali Reza spent his American years in Dallas, TX, and Milpitas and San Ramon, CA, looking after his grandchildren, but would visit Germany at least once or twice a year to see his family and friends there.He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Golriz Khatami; seven children: Bijan (deceased), Flora, Hooshang, Ocean, Riba, Kourosh, and Farhang; and eleven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
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