SHEKOUFEH CHOUPANNEJAD, SARA SAADAT AND SABA SAADAT

Shekoufeh Choupannejad was always there for Edmonton’s Iranian community. Her friend Shayesteh Majdnia said her “kindness completed her.”

As the former head of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton, Majdnia would go to Choupannejad for help when she was overwhelmed with work at the society.

“Any time I would go back to her asking for her support, either financially or her presence to help as a volunteer, she would never say no,” she said.

Choupannejad, an obstetrician and gynecologist, was also more than willing to use her medical skills to help newcomers to Edmonton.

“I’d pick up the phone and call her, and ask her, ‘ Can you see this person? This person landed just recently and they are struggling.’ And she would find the time to see that patient. You know, she was that kind of person.”

Choupannejad was excited to take her daughters Sara Saadat ( born in 1996) and Saba Saadat ( born in 1998) with her to Iran. Sara was working on getting her biology degree at the University of Alberta. Saba, a fourth- year undergraduate student in the Faculty of Science at the University of Alberta, was an active member in the community through her philanthropy work and community service. She had been volunteering with the Social Engagement, Empowerment, and Development Society ( SEEDS) as a project manager on the Helping Hampers campaign.

Outside of SEEDS, Saba was vice- president at the University of Alberta Heart and Stroke Foundation Student’s Association, a tutor, a volunteer piano teacher and a volunteer with the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton.