Zarang Somerby

Obituary

Zarang's life began from the early time of the first Bahá i temple. It came to an end with the recent building of the Chilean temple. In her early life, Zarang was a superb seamstress. She made many of her sister's wedding gowns from whole cloth, no patterns, just appropriate materials. For one of her male relatives, he asked her to design some clothes for a contest he entered. Not surprising, for the design she made, he won first prize. Early on she began to learn English, then teach, acquiring some beginning students. When she went to England, she made money as a seamstress. To expand her background, she traveled to Ireland and other western countries. While in England she began to study nursing. In addition, she looked into cosmetics.

Her successful skills in later life are more fully addressed in her Eulogy.

I think of Zarang's history in the faith, as a parallel to the life efforts of Mark Twain

(Samuel Langhorne Clemens). Mark's novels reflected his views of human kind, in: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), which some call the "Great American Novel", being known for their humor, vivid details, and memorable characters. His novels opened eyes to a proposal that African slaves were as deeply human as their owners. Twain was an adamant supporter of the abolition of slavery. He succinctly criticized different aspects of society: materialism, society's expectations of white and black men, and racial hypocrisy. His novels were given in order to denounce the many shortcomings of society; to change the mindset of society's perspective on these aspects. "The planet, its peoples, and its creatures have suffered greatly from a materialistic mindset that views the individual as purely economic and a self-interested unit, competing with others to accumulate an ever-increasing share of the world's material resources,"

As a parallel purpose, of re-educating society, refocusing us on the sacredness of our human values: the first Bahá i temple marked the beginning of Zarang's life's journey. In turn, the building of the resent Chilean temple, marked the ending of her journey, by supporting a continuing hope for the betterment of human kind. These temples bracketed her life, as did Samual Clemmons, being born when Haley's comet appeared early on. So he later died after a meaningful life seeking human justice, with Haley's comet appeared again in the night sky., While in Russia, Zarang was present under the emergent unfolding of a new continental houses of worship. This first Baha'i House of Worship, also known as a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, in Russia was located in Ashgabat, then part of the Russian Empire, now the capital of Turkmenistan. Construction began in 1902 and was largely completed by 1907, though not fully finished until 1919.

Zarang was seriously dedicated to the theme that all humans are members of the same family, all sharing the same sacred foundation. As a continuation of this process In 2001, the Universal House of Justice announced that efforts should begin to construct the Mother Temple of South America. Later, in 2002, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Chile launched a design competition for the temple, to be built southeast of Santiago. The winning design was submitted by Canadian firm Hariri Pontarini Architects. The Santiago Bahá'i House of Worship is a Bahá'í House of Worship located in Santiago, Chile. It was inaugurated in 2016 and serves as the continental temple for South America. The site of the Bahá' 1 House of Worship in Santiago, Chile, was recently host to a gathering that marked a significant milestone in a conservation project aimed at safeguarding the diverse ecosystems in the Andes Mountains.

The mayor of Peñalolén, expressed her appreciation for the role the temple has played in promoting environmental stewardship in the region since its inauguration. "These grounds have a special meaning because... the efforts [of the Bahá' i community] to restore these foothills has been very important," she said. A representative of the GEF project, spoke about the steps taken to reforest and conserve the flora and fauna on the temple site, saying: "By using native plants, minimizing visual obstructions, and engaging in ecological restoration, the design and landscaping of the gardens create a tranquil space in which the city finds silence, and visitors can connect with nature. This connection inspires meaningful conversations and invites you to approach the temple in a state of meditation and reflection."

Veronica Oré, the director of the House of Worship, explained in her remarks that beyond conservation efforts on the site, the Bah'i community has sought to further support the project by creating spaces for conversations that explore a holistic vision of progress grounded in spiritual principles such as the oneness of humanity. The intent of Samuel Clemens is manifest here. The irony is that the efforts of Mark Twain to awaken the world's humanity to the dangers of their mindset, to a more inclusive understanding of humanity. We have an atheist's hope to move humanity in the same direction of human compassion promoted by Bahá' ư lláh.

As with all Bahá'i Houses of Worship, it is open to people of all faiths and backgrounds.

The sacred writings of the Bah'i Faith, as well as those of other religions, may be read or chanted within the temple. Choirs may perform musical renditions of prayers and readings. The Santiago temple serves as the continental House of Worship for South America and was the last of the continental temples to be completed. According to the Bahá'i World News Service, the Santiago House of Worship had received over 40,000 visitors by December 6, 2016.[9] On November 6, 2019, the same source reported that more 1.4 million people had visited the temple.

In 2024, it was reported that that number went up to 2.5 million visitors since its opening. Zarang dearly wanted to go to Santiago, Chile to celebrate the building of the this latest temple, the completion of a deep dedication of following the growth of the faith.. But her mobility, and general health disallowed traveling so far. Our daughter Sherene was able to travel to the Santiago, temple, to give Zarang a personal first hand story.