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Jaleh Mesbah

A public memorial gathering to honor the life of Jaleh Mesbah will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 7, 2019, at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Convention Center in the Casco Bay/Kidd Island room.

Mrs. Mesbah, who passed away on Feb. 19, 2019, was born in Iran in 1933. She was the second youngest of seven siblings (four sisters and two brothers). Her childhood and early adulthood home was a center of activities for the Bahá’i community and a place where the extended family came together and was always welcome to stay in their travels.

Jaleh studied “home arts” in vocational school, where she learned clothing design, tailoring and other skills that she used throughout her life, first for her family and later as an avocation when she came to America.

Jaleh married Alaedin (Ali) Mesbah in 1955. They had two sons. Alaedin passed in 2012. She is survived by her sons, six grandchildren and extended family all around the world.

Jaleh and Ali immigrated to America in 1981 and settled in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Although adjusting to a new country and home took time and was at times difficult, and adapting to a new culture and language was often challenging, they soon were able to rebuild a humble life with new friends. Jaleh served on the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’is of Coeur d’Alene, which is an annually elected administrative body for the local community, for 36 years. For many of those years, she served as treasurer for the Assembly.

Jaleh also worked as a seamstress for the North Shore and Coeur d’Alene Resorts for 36 years. She used her master skills in fashion design to design the staff uniforms and oversaw the sewing operations. In 2018, at age 85, she opened CJ’s Alterations with Cami Martinson while continuing to work part-time at the resort.

Among her many acquaintances, Jaleh is fondly remembered for her humble wisdom, gracious hospitality and the wonderful Persian food she artfully prepared and shared most generously.