Dear Friends,
It is with deep sadness and a very heavy heart that we inform you of the passing of our beloved husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather, Alberto, on April 5th.
Alberto and Zareen were married for 30 yrs, after falling in love in a fairy tale romance in Vienna Austria, where they met while Alberto was working as the Deputy Director General of UNIDO. Alberto moved to Boston from Vienna, to continue courting Zareen and marry her. He developed a deep, loving and fun relationship with Zareen’s son, Farokh. Farokh used to tell Alberto that Alberto was the perfect gentleman, and an excellent role model for Farokh, as well as an extraordinarily loving father and husband. Alberto was delighted to welcome Rashna into the family as Farokh’s wife. In more recent years, he was thrilled to become a grandfather to Ava and Rustom, both of whom he adored, and who loved him dearly, and with whom he was most playful and sang and also wanted to  inspire them to learn. 

The fairy tale romance and happy, loving and devoted life with Zareen continued till his eventual very peaceful passing, and through all his medical challenges.

Alberto became a very loved member of the Karani family, and was heartily welcomed and enjoyed by Zareen’s parents and brother, Philly, and his entire family, whom he endeared himself to.
Alberto developed many friendships within the ZAGBA community, and deeply appreciated the friendships and interactions he had with the fine and caring individuals in the ZAGBA community, and in potluck and panna party groups, as well as the congenial gatherings and outings with friends, over the years. For years, Alberto attended all FEZANA, WZCC and World Zoroastrian Congresses, worldwide with Zareen.
Alberto was an Engineer from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, his home country, and also had a Masters in Engineering from Cornell. He then studied Economics at Oxford and later joined the UN. He was a lifelong learner, read deeply and voraciously, and kept up with cutting edge thoughts and discoveries.
Alberto had a very illustrious career, not only with the UN, but as a pioneer and innovative thinker, in being invited to research and help plan or review the initial Science and Technology Policies for several countries, not only for Argentina, but for several developing countries, worldwide. He was invited for his input and experienced wisdom, even when he was in his late 80s. His intellect was sharp and curious, right till the end, when he was almost 94. 
Alberto was also a Visiting Researcher at MIT, the Fletcher School and at UMass, Boston for several years, and was an invited speaker at conferences and UN Agencies, the World Bank, IDRC, the organization of American States etc. in many countries and all continents, and at Universities worldwide, from Moscow to the Philippines, New Zealand and several African and South American countries.
Alberto was also a superb Glider pilot and led the Argentine Team to the World Gliding Championships twice.
Alberto spoke several languages and had travelled and worked in over 30 countries. But he was a humble soul, and interested in others and their lives. Even in hospital, when the doctors asked him, “How are you today?” his usual answer was, “Please first tell me how you are yourself today, and what’s going on for you?” And some would!

Alberto, with Zareen, has been a dedicated and loved member of the Winchester Unitarian Society since almost 30 years.

Alberto is also survived by a daughter, Carolina, husband Pablo, and their two children, Ignacio and Josefina, in Argentina and two sons in Germany and Argentina. Carolina and Alberto’s God daughter, Emilita, and granddaughter Josefina accompanied Alberto and Zareen on the ZAGBA bus trip to NYC some years ago.
Alberto said he himself wanted to thank all the individual ZAGBA members, like Aspi Engineer, Anaheet Gazdar, Zubin Bagwadia and many others, who assisted and supported Zareen during the last 3 months, as she cared for Alberto in hospital. And of course, Farokh, most of all, who has been a pillar of support, and also lovingly and caringly took Alberto with Zareen to all his medical appointments, over the years.

Alberto and Zareen feel inexpressible gratitude to our dear and beloved ZAGBA doctor Shiavax Cowasjee, and his kind wife, Vahishta and all the family. Shiavax has been by our side and available 24×7 graciously, for his deeply knowledgeable medical insights and his warmth as an understanding friend. And finally, his helping prepare us in the best way possible to help Alberto leave this world feeling surrounded by love, comfortable and totally and naturally pain free. For that and more, Alberto, Zareen and Farokh will be ever grateful in their hearts.

We will be having an informal Prayer Service and Storytelling for Alberto, on Saturday April 15th, at 2pm, at the Winchester Unitarian Church (on 478, Main St, in Winchester MA), which we warmly invite those who knew Alberto to attend.

Since we will be serving refreshments, please RSVP if you are planning to attend to:farokh.zagba@manyme.com

In the next two months we will be holding a Memorial Service to celebrate Alberto’s very special life.  

Thank you.

Farokh Karani.