Talked with Rocky Manning for a while today during the basketball games out at Northern Guilford…..He was there with Brett, Matt and Emeka from over at Caldwell Academy and the kids are taking a break and they were watching some holiday hoops today and I got to talking hoops with Rocky and he was telling me that our good friend, Mr. Dashtaki, had passed away recently….
Mr. Mehraban “Kenny” Dashtaki was a good one and if you ever met him, you will never forget that guy and he will be missed by his family, especially here at Christmas….
Mr. Dashtaki used to always be up at the “Y’ on Market Street, the one that is now the Royce Reynolds Recreation Facility, which is owned by Greensboro College….
Mr. Dashtaki would be at the “Y”, with his son Rustom Dashtaki and Mr. Dashtaki would be pushing Rustom to become a basketball player….Mr. Dashtaki would talk to anyone and everyone about basketball….”Please help my son, he needs to become a basketball player and he needs to become a doctor one day”, Mr. Dashtaki would always say to anyone that was willing to listen, and believe me, people would listen….People all over this town knew Mr. Dashtaki….
I remember one day when he introduced me to Torry Holt, from down at Eastern Guilford HS and Mr. Dashtaki told me that this young man would be a great basketball player one day, and he wasn’t far off, Holt went on to excel in the NFL and he set all kinds of records with the St. Louis Rams and he’ll probably be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day….Mr. Dashtaki knew talent when he saw it….
Mr. Dashtaki knew quite a few things….He knew his son Rustom would one day be a doctor, or enter the medical profession and I’m sure that Rustom ended up in the medical field after his days at Duke and at Wake Forest…..I remember one year, when Rustom was at the Governor’s School over at Salem College, near Old Salem and Mr. Dashtaki called and told me, you’ve got to get over here and I rode my bicycle over there and saw the school first-hand….Just needed a little exericse that day and I remember the day I rode my bicycle down Highway 70 along the East Wendover route and made the trip to Mr. Dashtaki’s house and it was a sight to behold…..They had cows and goats and other animals and I called the place Dashtaki Land…..Sort of like Disney Land…..But it was Dashtaki Land….
Pretty much everything connected with Mr. Dashtaki was something from a foreign land….He was one of the most humble and considerate humans that you would ever run into….Dee Fuller, up at the “Y”, knew Mr. Dashtaki and Mr. D always told Dee that he needed to teach his son how to play basketball like a pro….Dee Fuller would want to cash in on some sweets, he always asked Mr. Dashtaki, if he had any sweets(candy)….
Rustom, Dolley and Mr. Dashtaki had another child(possibly Della) and he had those goats down at Dashtaki Land…..You meet some very interesting people along the way, but you’ll never see another person with as much energy and enthusiasm as Mr. Dashtaki had while he was on this earth….He had heart trouble over the years and at times he would say he was a bit weak, but he had the “Laplomb”…..”Laplomb, laplomb”, he would yell when he wanted the energy to be exerted by his son Rustom, or those around him….When we would be in a serious basketball game he would tell the other team to, “Stop that Jock Lobotamata, Stop that Jock Lobotamata”….My old radio name and even though we were good friends, if I was on the other team, I was in line to be a dead man, if Mr. Dashtaki had relatives on the other team…..
We’ll be missing Mr. Dashtaki this year, but I can guarantee you one thing, we’ll never forget that guy, and if you ever met Mr. Dashtaki, you would be saying the same thing right now, he was one of a kind, and his kind don’t come around very often….
God bless Mr. Dashtaki…….
from the News and Record on-line obit:
An Iran native, Kenny was born July 12, 1939, the son of Rostam and Homa Yourn Dashtaki. He was a graduate of North Carolina A&T University with a B.S. Degree in Agricultural Engineering. Kenny was a faithful member of Buchanan Baptist Church and retired from Prudential Insurance with many years of service.
In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a brother, Sorab Dashtaki.
Kenny is survived by his loving wife Parvane Dashtaki of the home; three children, Rustom “Rusty” Dashtaki, Dovlatt Dashtaki and Delroba Dashtaki all of Greensboro; his sister Kharman Dashtaki of Baltimore, MD.; 4 brothers, Manucher Dashtaki of Orlando, FL., Ardeshir Dashtaki of Orlando, FL., Goshtab Dashtaki of Garden Grove, CA. and Khon Dashtaki of Miami, FL; two grandchildren, Antonio and Keyana Villegas.
Was he the little white haired gentleman whose son playback @ the YMCA in the late ’80s?
That was him, I do believe….Dark skin and a big smile….Most people that met Mr. Dashtaki will never forget that smile…..
I can’t thank you enough with tears that roll down and taking deep breaths when reading this well put article of my father…There isn’t a day that goes by that I dont miss his smile and beautiful spirit…there isn’t enough words that cld describe my father truly such an incredible man in all aspects…there wasn’t a day that went by that he wldnt do whatever it took to make someone smile and share his loving heart to the world…there isnt one day that goes by that I dont stuggle cause I miss everything about him…but I do my all to live like him and the days tht I dont want to smile I do cause I knw that it will affect others arnd me and make there day 😉 so I keep him spirit alive thru me…but I hold on2 the memories knowing that in God’s word we will all be with our loved ones again in heaven…but I can’t thank you all enough for this and sharing to others how wonderfully made my father was and how I hope each and every one of you enjoy everyday to the fullest and always smile and spend as much time as possible with the ones you love the most…Thanks again 🙂
Great post! Jock Lobotamata…..680-1010…..How you been? I think about you often. I hope you are doing well. I can’t thank you enough for writing that wonderful post about my dad. You brought back so many memories. I hope 2011 will be a great year for all of us. I truly appreciate everything you have done for us over the years! We need to get together sometime and catch up! I’m sure my dad is still smiling and looking over all of us. I miss him every day. He was very special. He told me how much he missed the good ‘ol days. Thanks for keeping those memories alive!