Nasser Hadidi
Nasser Hadidi passed away unexpectedly on August 16th, 2020 in Colfax, Wisconsin.
Nasser was born as one of five brothers in Shiraz, Iran on October 21st, 1942. He excelled academically and was awarded a scholarship to attend the American University of Beirut, where he studied statistics and earned a Bachelor of Science. He continued his academic career at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, where he then earned a Ph.D. in Statistics. As he considered his subsequent academic path, he received an invitation to do post-doctoral research at the University of Oslo in Norway. There he met Grazyna, a Polish chemistry student, and they embarked on a whirlwind courtship that led to their marriage. Their honeymoon was a multi-continent drive from Oslo back to Shiraz. Upon returning to Iran, he became a faculty member at Pahlavi University, teaching Statistics, where he rose to become Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and a founding member of the Iranian Academy of Science. He was deeply committed to the modernization and development of the Iranian educational system and was very disappointed he was not able to continue this work as a result of the Iranian Revolution. Showing a focus on family that would always define him, he left Iran in 1978 with his wife and two young children to begin a new chapter in the United States.
He and his family settled in Menomonie, Wisconsin, where he began a new academic career in the University of Wisconsin system. As a Professor of Statistics at the University of Wisconsin - Stout, for over thirty years, he taught multiple generations of students with care, clarity and humor. In addition, he embarked on a second career as an actuary, earning membership as a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society. Always the professor, he took great pride in joining the examination committee, creating tests for future generations of actuaries.
Nasser was profoundly grateful for the opportunity to be an immigrant to the United States. He always viewed America as a beacon of hope and opportunity unmatched anywhere else in the world. He was relentlessly optimistic about the country’s future, passing on this spirit to his family and friends.
He is survived by his wife Grazyna, his children Larissa (Brian) Scott and Cyrus (Michelle) Hadidi, his brothers Rassule Hadidi and Mansour Hadidi, and his seven grandchildren, Ella, Bennett and Jonah Scott, and Holden, Stephan, Henryk, and Robert Hadidi.
He was preceeded in death by his parents, Mohamad Bagher and Nezhat, and his brothers, Jusof and Ahmad.
The family will hold a small private burial and will host a Celebration of Life at a time when his family and friends can gather.