Nasrin (Dokht) Parker, RN, a resident of Charlestown and a former 37-year resident of Chelmsford, passed away peacefully with her daughter Katherine Parker and her grand dog Sophie by her side at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston following a long illness. She was 90 years of age.
Born to Habibolla & Torkan Majde-Ziaie in 1933 in Zanjan, Iran, she was the youngest of nine siblings and is predeceased by her 8 sisters and her husband, Chandler Brooks Parker, whom she was married to for 44 years. Her mother was related to the Qajar family who ruled Persia before the Pahlavi dynasty, last king (Shah of Iran) before the revolution in Iran. Her father, Habib, was a member of the House of Representatives and indeed one of the longest serving members of Parliament. The city of Zanjan closed the streets & stores for his funeral and the street is named after him where they resided.
Nasrin skipped 2 grades as a child so she could be in school with her sisters, as she refused to be without them, and her parents, along with the school system, finally caved in to get her out from underneath her bed. She started school in the second grade at age 5. This started her on her path and set the stage for her future life of drive, determination & achievement.
She received a Diploma in General Nursing in 1952 from the Royal Ashraf School of Nursing in Tehran, Iran and became the Head Nurse & Clinical Instructor at Tehran University Medical Center in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
In 1954, she received a World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Scholarship to obtain a State Certificate of Midwifery at the British Hospital for Mothers & Babies where she schooled for 3 years. At completion, she became the Head Nurse at St Mary’s Hospital in London delivering babies as a Midwife for Lords, Ladies & British nobility for 3 years. In 1960, she was then offered another Scholarship to Indiana University, Bloomington to complete a special program in Administration of Nursing Education. Once complete, she came back to her country, as requested by the Iranian Government, to work and contribute to the field of Nursing where she became the Director of Nursing Services at the biggest hospital in the Middle East at the time. In the early 60s, she was asked to move to the city of Mashad to open and become the Director of the Jorjani School of Nursing at the Jorjani American Hospital where she helped in planning, revising, and developing the first standard curriculum in Nursing for the country of Iran along with playing a key part in opening five hospitals in the northern part of the country, State of Kordenstan. His majesty the King attended the opening of the Jorjani Hospital.
In 1964, she was awarded another W.H.O scholarship which brought her to the United States for her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing & Master's of Science in Psychiatric Nursing at Boston University. It was during her schooling in Boston, where she met her husband, Chandler, at a dance at the BU Boat Club with her roommate, on an evening she did want to go out. They were wed 6 months later, and when asked why so soon, Chandler’s response was “She was crazy and funny as hell, made me laugh, so I married her”. Following her graduation in 1969, they went back to Iran together to meet her family and fulfill her contract to continue to work for the Ministry of Public Health. It was there where their first and only child, Katherine, was born. Upon returning back to the US a year later, Nasrin resided in Cambridge and became the Director of a Nursing Home on Prospect St in Cambridge prior to moving to Pottstown, PA and Hudson Ohio for Chandler’s teaching career. While in Ohio, she became an Instructor in Psychiatric Nursing at the Akron General Medical Center in 1973 for 3 years. They returned to Cambridge in 1976, where she started working as a Psychiatric Nurse at the Edith N Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts. Two years later they relocated to Dallas for 2 years, briefly, where she continued working for the Veteran’s Administration as a Psychiatric Nurse before coming back to Massachusetts in the fall of 1979.
She spent the rest of her career as a Psychiatric Nurse at the Bedford VA Hospital for over 27 years, in the Psycho-Social Rehab Unit, where she was a provider of Family Counseling to many multi-problem families and instrumental in Family Therapy programs while also serving as a Clinical Consultant to nurses on the floor. She excelled in the treatment of highly treatment resistant families, even making home visits when they were not able to get to the hospital. She worked tirelessly and endlessly to serve the needs of patients in her care and was genuinely interested in the welfare of her patients with a very empathetic, supportive, understanding, and caring approach.
Nasrin was selfless, eager to learn, devoted, driven and spent her life caring for others, including her family and friends. She was egoless and put herself last. She cared for all of her nieces and nephews who came to Boston in the mid 70s to early 80s to attend college and would give anyone anything she had. A nurse extraordinaire & an even more amazing Mom.
She battled Alzheimer's disease for over 13 years and was also crippled by a stroke over 5 1/2 years ago and kept her fierce determination to power through while never feeling sorry for herself, smiling through all, graciously. She was known for her great wit, sharp mind, kind & forgiving heart, mischievousness, and a smile that could light up a room. She had a very unique outlook on life and its circumstances. She and Chandler traveled extensively, exploring many adventures across Europe and also Cape Cod. They had an affinity for Paris, Cannes, and the National seashore in Wellfleet, Ma and enjoyed discovering new restaurants & live music. She loved to laugh, converse, meet new people, dance, sing, read poetry, shop, garden, enjoy the beach, & relax to her favorite TV shows with ice cream. She had a way of constantly drawing people in with her electric personality, curiosity to learn, and warm heart. She enjoyed her pets, especially her grand dogs, most notably, Sophie. She is survived by her daughter, Katherine E. Parker of Charlestown, MA, and was a beloved Aunt to over 36 nieces & nephews and their children. Small, mighty, strong and full of love, she will be missed dearly by all who knew her.
A Celebration of her Life will be held at the UMass Club at One Beacon St. in Boston at 4:30 pm on THURSDAY, February 15, 2024. Garage entrance is located across from 30 Tremont St.
Donations can be made in her name to the Headstrong Project and the Alzheimer's Association