Pake Parsi MD

Pake Parsi, MD, died on May 31, 2023. He was a few weeks shy of his 91st birthday. Pake was born Nasser Vatankhahi on June 24, 1932, in Isfahan, Iran, to Mohammed and Fatima Vatankhahi. The oldest of four children, he was a talented painter and artist as a young man but decided to pursue a medical career. He enrolled in the University of Tehran School of Medicine and was the first person in his family to become a physician. He described his years in medical school as among the best in his life. In 1965, he married Shahin Parsi (née Kobra Alizadeh) and moved to the United States to pursue residency training in obstetrics and gynecology. His residency training took him from Cleveland’s Fairview Hospital to New York City, where he completed his residency in various teaching hospitals (Morrisania Hospital and Unity Hospital in the Bronx, Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn, and Coney Island Hospital). As enjoyable as medical school was, residency was the opposite—grueling and intense. Once residency was complete, and with his wife, Shahin, and four sons in tow, Pake moved to Hammonton, New Jersey. In search of warmer weather and better opportunities, he moved his family to East Texas in the mid-1970s, first moving to Gladewater and later settling in Longview, where he would live the rest of his life. With his wife’s invaluable help, Pake built up his medical practice, delivering thousands of babies and treating many patients during his career. Years after his deliveries, former patients would come up to him and express their appreciation for the care he provided. After decades of practice, he retired in the mid-1990s and devoted his time to writing, connecting with friends online, and enjoying Persian television shows. For several years after his retirement, his dog Molly was a constant companion. Pake had a variety of intellectual and cultural interests, including cinema, playing chess, listening to classical music, playing the flute, and collecting art objects. Most importantly, he was a lover of Persian literature and poetry. He could recite hundreds of Persian poems from memory, especially those written by his beloved Hafez. Pake was preceded in death by his wife, Shahin, and survived by his four children and their spouses: Kayhan Parsi (Nanette Elster), Pat Parsi (Danielle Rouso-Parsi), Daryush Parsi (Pardis Chamani-Parsi), and Novid Parsi (Matthew Blakely). He is also survived by his grandchildren: Gabriel, Dominic, Allanah, Renzo, Ava, and Adrian, as well as his siblings: Mansur, Massoud, and Badri, and their respective families. Pake’s family will hold a private service. The family asks that any contributions be sent in his name to the Shahin Parsi Memorial Endowment for Nursing at UT-Tyler https://www.uttyler.edu/advancement/shahin-parsi-memorial-endowment/

Pake Parsi MD

June 24, 1932 - May 31, 2023