FEZANA is saddened to announce that scholar and author Pallan Rustomji Ichaporia passed away on February 22, 2020 at a nursing home in Oklahoma City. Husband of late Hutoxi Ichaporia, he is survived by his children Burjor Ichaporia, Farida Ichaporia and Mani Hagood of Oklahoma City, Aban Boman of Phoenix, AZ and Rashna Ichaporia of Reading, PA, and grandchildren Chase Ward and James Ingram of Oklahoma CIty, and Neil Boman of Phoenix, AZ.
The Paydust and Gehsarna prayers (funeral) will be performed by Er. Peshotan Unwalla, on Monday February 24th, afternoon at Primrose Funeral Home, 1109 N. Porter Avenue, Norman, OK. Subsequent prayers will be performed at the Bhandara Atash Kadeh in Houston.
Pallan Ichaporia, PhD, MBA, who served as chair of FEZANA’s Research and Preservation Committee, and was co-founder of SSZ (Society of Scholars of Zoroastrianism) has left an invaluable legacy of research on Avestan and Gathic texts, and imparted his learning through publications and presentations at International Gatha and Avesta conferences.
Among his many contributions to Zoroastrian Journals, most relevant at this time, is his thesis on “The Doctrine of Afterlife – as Expounded in the Avesta, Pahlavi Texts and the Gathas” [FEZANA Journal, Winter 2005, at www.fezana.org]. His rich library of books has been donated to the FIRES (Fezana Information, Research and Education System) library in Houston, where his legacy lives on with his name emblazoned for posterity in each book.
Dr. Ichaporia has contributed in no small measure to enrich and inspire our community members and scholars worldwide, for which the Zoroastrian community owes him a debt of gratitude.
Condolences may be sent to Burjor Ichaporia (JoeParsi@gmail.com, 1-631-645 7588). Donations in Pallan’s name, may be sent to any Parsi charity in India, or to FIRES (fires-fezana.org) or SSZ (s-s-z.org) for research in Zoroastrianism. Contact Burjor for further information.