Death
Mihan Kazemi
June 20, 1943 – April 19, 2022
Mihan Kazemi, passed away with breast cancer peacefully at home surrounded by her loving
family. She experienced a final gift as her grand children, Cyrus from Nova Scotia, Mina from
Baltimore and Yasmin from Toronto were all with her bringing joy and peace during her final
days.
Mihan was born in Iran in the province of Azerbaijan. There she was raised in a rich cultural
environment where her natural artistry was first recognized and nurtured.
In 1961, at the age of 17, Mihan was selected as the best student in painting and calligraphy in a
regional competition. She went on to represent Western Azerbaijan in a country-wide
competition where she placed third amongst the best art students in all of Iran.
Mihan was married to the late Sadegh Kazemi, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Iran and
together they travelled extensively throughout the world as dignitaries. They immigrated to
Canada in 1979, and soon after Mihan, Sadegh, and their son, Reza, founded Mihan Publishing
Inc. in Toronto where Mihan acted as the design coordinator and graphic artist for numerous
and varied publications.
Away from her homeland, Mihan was inspired to also focus her artistic talent on the painting of
exquisite miniatures, a traditional Persian art form. In 1986 she participated in an international
miniature exhibition organized by Delbello Galleries of Toronto.
In addition to her artistic endeavors, Mihan volunteered for various educational and cultural
foundations as well as Toronto General Hospital. As an avid environmentalist, she promoted
small steps to decrease one’s personal footprint on the natural environment.
Over the years, Mihan was recognized with several achievement awards including the Premier of
Ontario Award for her outstanding work on the Bicentennial Program and a commemorative
plaque for her generous help in fundraising by the United Nations. Fittingly, she was awarded
the distinction of 5 Years of Volunteer Service in Ontario from the Ministry of Citizenship and
Culture.
Most significantly, Mihan took great pride in being a grandmother- sharing her talents in
cooking, dancing, singing, and playing tennis.
Mihan will be dearly missed by her son, Reza, daughter in law, Barb, and grandchildren Yasmin,
Mina and Cyrus.
Her final days were filled with reminiscing, singing, dancing; laughter and tears. Her final words
to us were “When you are laughing, I am with you laughing; when you are singing, I am with you
singing; and when you are dancing, I am with you dancing. I am always with you, loving you
…..Love you more, Mihan.
Our sincere condolences in the loss of a such a beautiful, talented and loving Mother and Grandmother.
So sorry for your loss. With deepest sympathy and gracious condolences.
Helen
Sending love to your family today as you say goodbye to your beloved Mother and Grandmother. May your memories bring you comfort.
So sorry to hear Reza,may God be with you and family thoughts and prayers goes out to you and Family Thinking of you.
I am so sorry to hear about the passing away of your Mother and Grandmother- what loving final words to have as a memory to continue through life with!!!!
Kara Duliban-Gee
Sending thoughts and prayers to Reza, Barb and family during this sad time.
My Sincerest Condolences to Reza , Barbara , and Yasmin ,Mina and Cyrus .
Our sincere sympathy to you Reza, Barb, Yasmin, Mina and Cyrus. Cherish the memories, she will be sadly missed by all of you.
What an amazing woman. Our condolences in the loss of your mother and grandmother.
Reza, Barb, and kids.
My deepest condolences on your loss. Mihan was an inspiration to many and her legacy will live on in the hearts of those who loved her well.
Patty
Dear Reza, Barb & family: Our sincere condolences and sympathy to your family on the passing of your mother/ grandmother. May God’s peace comfort you and sweet memories sustain you.
Dear Reza and Barb and family very sincere condolences on the passing of your mother and grandmother. A shame to lose someone of such great talent and compassion. She left you with incredible memories.
What a blessing to be surrounded by such love as she passed. Sean and I send our sincerest condolences.
My deepest condolences on the loss of your Mother Reza, Barb and family. May she rest in Paradise
What a beautiful woman. So happy I got to meet her. Her soul was filled with joy. A sad moment to have lost her, a wonderful moment to remember her wonderful life. She was lucky to have a wonderful family to receive the love she fully deserved.
We send sincere condolences to you and your family on the passing of your Mother, Reza. Such a beautiful, talented and loving woman. She will be missed dearly.. she obviously had a great influence on your lives. such memories
Thinking of all of you at this time.
I’m thankful that she is not suffering now. I enjoyed talking with Mihan the couple of times that l saw her…she was such an interesting and beautiful woman.
Orlin and I send sincere condolences to you, Reza, Barbara and family. Your mother sounds like a very remarkable and artistic woman who contributed so much to different causes. You must have so many beautiful memories of her to pass on to your children. Thanks for sharing some of those memories with those who are reading this obituary. Sincerely, Orlin & Judy Houser
So sorry to hear about this great loss to your family. My thought’s and prayers are with you at this difficult time
Reza, Barb, Cyrus, Jasmin and Mina – We extend our sincere condolences on the loss of your mother and grandmother. It is our hope that the wonderful life she so apparently lived will bring you some degree of comfort at this time. – John, Cathy, Marli and Amanda.
My sincere sympathy ,thinking of the family at this sad time . What a beautiful; lady and so talented.
My deepest condolences in the loss of your Mother.
My thoughts are with you. Sorry for your loss
Our condolences to you Reza and Barb with the loss of your mother. She sounded like a very interesting and loving lady.
Please accept my condolences for the loss of your mother. From what I heard, she was a great woman to be admired. I’ll be thinking about you in the coming days and saying a prayer for you now and then
Your mother was the type of person who inspired integrity in those around her; she encouraged others to be the best people they could be. That’s reflected in your life
Jen Robertson
Our deepest sympathies to the Kazemi family. Many contributions to be proud of. May she Rest In Peace.
Sending heartfelt sympathy to Mihan’s family and friends! May the happy memories of Mihan carry you through this very sad and difficult time!
Reza, what an amazing life your mother has lived, and such amazing gifts she has left behind. May you, Barbara and your children find peace in knowing you are carrying on so much that she has taught you all. Her last words to you says it all.
Sherry
So sorry to hear of the passing of your mother in law Barb my condolences to yiu and your family. Darlene Hines
Rez and Barb and family. Sending my condolences. I know a mother is a huge loss to all families. My thoughts and prayers are sent your way.
My sincere sympathies to the Kazemi Family on the loss of your mother and grandmother.
Sounds like she was an amazing woman!!
Dear Reza,Barb,Yasmin,Mina and Cyrus. Our deepest sympathy to your family. We were so saddened to hear of your Moms passing. So many fond memories of this lovely lady while working with you both. May it get easier for you as time goes on.Cherish the memories.
Reza, Barb and family, my deepest sympathy to all of you.
So very sorry to hear that such a beautiful lady passed. Our sincerest condolences to you and your family
Our sincere condolences on your mother’s passing .glad she was able to see the grand children one last time
I will miss the philosophical side of Mihan (that’s where Reza got it!) I’ll never forget the time she asked me, “Do you believe in God?” and my flippant response was, “Which one are you referring to?” She was in the back seat of the car, so all I could see was the determined look of her eyes in the rear-view mirror as she constructed her answer. “I’m talking about the one that’s responsible for everything,” she said. Never a boring car ride with Mihan. She made the world a better place and has left a legacy of thoughtful and loving family in her wake.
My condolences to Reza, Barb, Yasmine, Mina & Cyrus. That is a beautiful story and life to celebrate.
Lori, Rebecca & Emily