Hooshang Naraghi Salem

August 11, 1934 - February 21, 2024

Hooshang Naraghi Salem passed away peacefully on February 21, 2024. His beloved wife, life partner and best friend of 64 years was holding his hand until the very end.

Hooshang lived life to the fullest – he was immensely joyful, positive and a very generous person, always making time to give his attention and well wishes to others. “Hoosh”, as he would become known among his American friends, was born August 11, 1934 in Tehran, Iran to Ahmed Naraghi Salem and Heshmat Safai. Hooshang spent his formative years, spending time with his maternal grandfather in the countryside outside of Tehran, making toys, and studying art.

While at the University of Tehran, he met Nour Jahan Oroji (translated as “Light of the World”), who would become his wife. The story goes… as a teenager, Nour was playing ball with her friends when the ball rolled into the street. Hooshang caught the ball and refused to return the ball when requested and instead replied “Boos Bede” in Farsi – translated as “Give me a Kiss”. Later on, after he saw the movie “Gigi” with Maurice Chevalier and Leslie Caron, Hooshang thought to himself “Nour is carefree and fun loving like the character in the movie” and thereafter he began calling Nour “Gigi” and that was what he called her until the day he passed.

After his first year at the University of Tehran (in or around 1958), Hooshang decided to leave Iran and emigrated to the United States. Shortly thereafter, Nour lived up to her nickname of “Gigi” when, at the age of 18, she accepted a one-way plane ticket from Hooshang, left her family in Iran, flew through Europe to the United States, and landed in Los Angeles on September 15, 1960, where they began their life together. Defying their own traditions, hierarchy and cultural protocol, the couple married within days of Gigi’s arrival to Los Angeles, during a regular Sunday church service in front of a congregation that neither of them knew, in a language that neither understood. The marriage certificate was printed on Bank of America stationery. The young couple’s landlord at the time remarked, “it will never last” - but it most certainly did!

In 1962, following the birth of their first child, Cyrus, Hooshang moved his family to San Luis Obispo so that he could complete his studies in architecture at Cal Poly. It was in San Luis Obispo that he welcomed his second child, Ciema, in 1963. Shortly thereafter, Hooshang moved his family to Santa Clara County, at that time also known as the “Valley of the Hearts Delight.” He would comment in his last few months of life “That was when my life changed for the better.”

His first job after college was at Tan Construction in Palo Alto, California. It was there that he met some of his best friends and in particular, Richard Hopkins of Menlo Park. After a period of growth, he went to work with Goodwin (“Goody”) Steinberg, an architect of considerable fame in Los Altos. He then gained enough experience to branch out on his own, opening his first solo practice - known as Hooshang Salem & Associates. Later, Hooshang and his great friend, the late Richard Hopkins, decided to work together, forming a firm named Hopkins & Salem. Hooshang’s work spoke for itself – he never had to advertise and obtained work solely through word-of-mouth referrals based on his reputation, skill and his outgoing, friendly personality.

In the late 1960’s and ’70’s, “The Valley” was quickly changing from its agricultural roots to a hub of innovation and technology. Within that rapidly changing world, Hooshang was considered a planning genius. Many prominent early Silicon Valley developers sought out his expertise to solve unsolvable problems. He worked on many substantial residential developments of that era – including a 60 unit apartment complex called “The California” located in Santa Clara, as well as another 1500 housing units that were built by the same developer. He also began doing work for Arcadia Development Co., and became the master planner/designer for “The Woods Project”— which was 75 acres of land that would hold 2000 condominium units within San Jose city limits. He designed and built several custom homes in the Los Altos and Palo Alto hills including the Berman house that was featured in Sunset magazine. He even developed, designed, and built smaller housing projects including Hooshang Court in Cupertino, Graceland Ave in San Carlos and Salem Drive in Santa Clara.

But Hooshang was more than an architect and land planner – he was also a gifted philosopher and free spirit. In Farsi, the name “Hooshang” means a combination of “Intelligence” and “Culture.” While his Persian background did not always lend itself to free thinking, the culture in America encouraged and rewarded it. He embraced the Zoroastrianism principles of “Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds” and believed that all our experiences help to increase our understanding, empathy and compassion so that there were no bad experiences since eventually growth would result.

Along his journey in life, Hooshang helped many people, especially during his early days in America. Hooshang, together with Gigi, were very often the first friends of many Iranian immigrants who came to the United States, seeking a fresh start and a new life. Hooshang and Gigi also exemplified a sort of regal style, character and charisma – all of which made them well-loved within both traditional American and Iranian communities, both of which they fully assimilated into.

Hooshang’s greatest joy and legacy was his own family, including his two children as well as his two grandchildren. He cherished their time as a family, attending sporting events, celebrating graduations and birthdays, as well as the traditional “American” holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition to his wife Nour, he is survived by his children Cyrus (Violeta), Ciema (David Ellison) and his grandchildren, Delilah and Christopher Salem. He is survived by his brothers, Bahram, Jamsheed and Fereidoon. He was preceded by death of his parents, Ahmed Naraghi Salem and Heshmat Safai, his brothers, Parvis, Iraj and Daryoush and his sister Mary.