Amir Houshang "harry" Hemmat
Died
Amir Houshang "Harry" Hemmat
It is with great sorrow that we mourn the passing of our husband, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin and friend Amir Houshang "Harry" Hemmat, age 87, who passed away on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 in Bellevue after a 37 month battle with pancreatic cancer.
Born and raised in Persia, Harry came to the United States at the age of 17 to attend school. He lived in California where he obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from Stanford University in 1954 while playing on Stanford's soccer team.
Harry acquired his degree in Pharmacy from the University of Washington in 1957. He met his future wife, Selma Eskenazi, in Seattle and married on June 5, 1960. They would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year. They lived and raised their three sons on Mercer Island and moved to Kirkland in 2015.
Harry opened his own drug store in Bellevue in 1965, and operated S & H Drug Center in Bellevue's Lake Hills neighborhood for over two decades. The initials in the store's name are for his name and his wife's, Selma. He was a caring individual, often personally delivering medicines to the elderly after a long day at work.
Harry had the last independent pharmacy in Bellevue. Upon his retirement in 2000, he became active in commercial real estate, as well as enjoying gardening, walks in Kirkland, playing weekly poker games with his long-time friends, spending quality time and holidays with his wife, children and grandchildren, and his many friends. He maintained strong relationships with his children, grandchildren, and other family members. Harry avidly attended and cheered on his grandchildren at their sport and music events. Harry, along with his wife, cherished traveling all over the world with his family, including to Hawaii, Mexico and Israel. Harry's intelligence and optimism was a constant throughout his life.
Burial occurred at the Seattle Sephardic Brotherhood Cemetery on March 19, with the funeral live- streamed allowing family and friends to view the service from across the country and overseas.
Harry was predeceased by his parents, Soleyman and Gorgieh Hemmat, his sister Houri and brother Naim. Harry is survived by his wife, Selma, son Steven (Rachely), son Bruce (Denise), son Jeffrey, and grandchildren Amir (Ruthie), Lior, Zohar, Lucy, Isaac, Gracie, Jackson and Lola.
A memorial will be planned for later this year to celebrate the legacy of this outstanding man. The family wishes to thank Dr. Vincent Picozzi, Dr. Flavio Rocha, Dr. Michal Hubka, the nurses and staff at Virginia Mason Hospital and Overlake Medical Center for their dedication and care they provided.
Remembrances can be made to Virginia Mason's Pancreaticobiliary Center Fund via the Virginia Mason Foundation, P.O. Box 1930, D1-MF, Seattle, WA 98111 or VirginiaMasonFoundation.org; Congregation Ezra Bessaroth; or Sephardic Bikur Holim.
It is with great sorrow that we mourn the passing of our husband, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin and friend Amir Houshang "Harry" Hemmat, age 87, who passed away on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 in Bellevue after a 37 month battle with pancreatic cancer.
Born and raised in Persia, Harry came to the United States at the age of 17 to attend school. He lived in California where he obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from Stanford University in 1954 while playing on Stanford's soccer team.
Harry acquired his degree in Pharmacy from the University of Washington in 1957. He met his future wife, Selma Eskenazi, in Seattle and married on June 5, 1960. They would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year. They lived and raised their three sons on Mercer Island and moved to Kirkland in 2015.
Harry opened his own drug store in Bellevue in 1965, and operated S & H Drug Center in Bellevue's Lake Hills neighborhood for over two decades. The initials in the store's name are for his name and his wife's, Selma. He was a caring individual, often personally delivering medicines to the elderly after a long day at work.
Harry had the last independent pharmacy in Bellevue. Upon his retirement in 2000, he became active in commercial real estate, as well as enjoying gardening, walks in Kirkland, playing weekly poker games with his long-time friends, spending quality time and holidays with his wife, children and grandchildren, and his many friends. He maintained strong relationships with his children, grandchildren, and other family members. Harry avidly attended and cheered on his grandchildren at their sport and music events. Harry, along with his wife, cherished traveling all over the world with his family, including to Hawaii, Mexico and Israel. Harry's intelligence and optimism was a constant throughout his life.
Burial occurred at the Seattle Sephardic Brotherhood Cemetery on March 19, with the funeral live- streamed allowing family and friends to view the service from across the country and overseas.
Harry was predeceased by his parents, Soleyman and Gorgieh Hemmat, his sister Houri and brother Naim. Harry is survived by his wife, Selma, son Steven (Rachely), son Bruce (Denise), son Jeffrey, and grandchildren Amir (Ruthie), Lior, Zohar, Lucy, Isaac, Gracie, Jackson and Lola.
A memorial will be planned for later this year to celebrate the legacy of this outstanding man. The family wishes to thank Dr. Vincent Picozzi, Dr. Flavio Rocha, Dr. Michal Hubka, the nurses and staff at Virginia Mason Hospital and Overlake Medical Center for their dedication and care they provided.
Remembrances can be made to Virginia Mason's Pancreaticobiliary Center Fund via the Virginia Mason Foundation, P.O. Box 1930, D1-MF, Seattle, WA 98111 or VirginiaMasonFoundation.org; Congregation Ezra Bessaroth; or Sephardic Bikur Holim.
Source: Seattle Times
Published on: 29-03-2020