I first met Reza at the wedding of Reza and my sister, Cynthia. I must have been about 12 or 13, and as soon as I saw Reza I thought he looked like a prince – he was so handsome, so graceful in his manners, so kind, his eyes filled with love. My family readily adopted Reza, and over the years Reza and my mother became good friends. How they made each other laugh! One time, my mother was driving Reza from Massachusetts to Maine, and realized she was taking the wrong exit, and so she backed up. Reza was shocked and panicked at the time, but later he made it into a hilarious story – one even my mother couldn’t help but laugh at. I saw him many times over the years –it must have been 50 years all told – and my affection for him grew with each visit.  We had many great laughs and engaging conversations (including in one of his favorite Oxford pubs), and I always learned something new from him. And I had my share of memorable laughs with him. When he was at UCLA (1969-70), he was crossing the campus quad one day with his professor, which by chance happened to be near where I was standing with a friend holding a poster to protest the Vietnam war. When I called to him, he pretended he didn’t know me – not surprisingly  of course  – but I admit to a bit of gratification when a few days later my friend and I grew into a campus-wide protest, one of many across the country that year. I could see that Reza needed some radicalization to keep up with the times, and so I bought him a black porcelain gorilla and told him it was so he could honor Che Guevara. He didn’t know how to react at first, but when Cynthia and Reza’s dog Daivah went crazy at the site of the gorilla, turning circles chasing her tail, jumping up and barking, he laughed uproariously. It became one of his favorite ways to play with Daivah, and  we always laughed at the memory. Reza found so much humor in life and it’s impossible to think of him without hearing his laugh. His laughter infected everyone, bringing so much joy to so many. My sons, who were only around 10 and 12 when they met him, still vividly remember his spark over 20 years later. As one said, “he was a special spirit,” and the other said what all who knew him must also say “you couldn’t help but love him.” And love him we did! Those he touched will keep him in our hearts forever.