Dr. Flora Diemi Kayfan (Choron), age 60, has been welcomed to the next spiritual world following her departure from this earthly realm on July 17, 2025, after 4 years of exercising strength and courage while living with Ameliotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease).
Dr. Kayfan was born in May 1965 in Tehran, Iran as the daughter of Habib’u’llah Kayfan and Mahfarid Naeimi Kayfan. Her family was visiting Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, AL, in 1979 when the Iranian Revolution occurred that allowed its new clerical government to begin its oppression and murders of citizens who were believers in the Baha’i Faith. Her family found religious asylum in the United States, as other family members found refuge in other places all around the world.
She earned her bachelor’s degree (1988) and medical degree (1993) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and completed her internship and residency (1996) at the University of Oklahoma, Tulsa. She was an alumna in 1984 of Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery, Alabama. She was dedicated in her medical work at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery, Tuskegee Clinic, Helen Keller Hospital, Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital in Ashland, KY, Lexington Clinic, Lexington, AL and Cardiovascular Institute of the Shoals in Florence, and operated her own clinic, Colbert County Family Practice Clinic in Tuscumbia. She was a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and American Medical Association and had licensure in Alabama, Kentucky, West Virgina and Tennessee. Her interest in the medical field was primarily due to a desire to be of service to people, and due in part to the sacrifice and martyrdom of her maternal uncle, Dr. Firouz Naeimi, who had eradicated malaria in his town of Hamadan, although the government of Iran deemed it worthy to execute him because the service he performed had been inspired by his belief in the Baha’i Faith.
Her beloved family members, although in mourning, are celebrating Flora’s transition to the next world, including her husband of 27 years, Dr. Jeffrey Choron of Muscle Shoals, AL, her sister, Dr. Gloria Kayfan of Cannonsburg, KY, her brothers, Dr. Farshid Kayfan of Plano, TX, and Dr. Arash Kayfan of Chesapeake, OH, and her marital in-laws, Ranneh Kayfan of Plano, and Dr. Sophia Haleem Kayfan of Chesapeake, Michael Huy of Canonsburg. Other family members include her niece, Tahirih Kayfan, and nephews, Kanz Kayfan, Samar Kayfan, and Ferooz Kayfan. Her extended family is located around the world: Brazil, El Salvador, Finland, Andora, Australia, and Iran. Her cherished friends include Elaine Mokwunye, Minire King, Regina Colston, Mahin Pouryaghma, Savannah Davis, Geneva Choron Christopher, Dr. Deborah Carter, and the late Josie Mae Perkins.
Central to the life of Dr. Kayfan were the teachings of the Baha’i Faith that inspired her to practice the spiritual principle of the oneness of mankind, that allowed her to appreciate the divinely sequential relationship of all the great religions of the world and its prophesies of progression, to do her part in working toward establishing the unity of mankind that allows an ability to overcome man-made divisions of race, sex, national origin, religion, economic status, whose ill effects prevent the progress of mankind and are the source of manifold afflictions and sufferings for too much of humanity today.
Family, friends, associates and the public are all warmly welcomed to enjoy memories and love of Dr. Flora Kayfan at a service at 2:00 pm on Sunday, July 20, 2025 at Grace Memorial Funeral Home, 501 Broad Street, Sheffield, AL with the burial following the service at Oakwood Cemetery in Sheffield, AL.
There was so much gratitude that Flora had for all who collaborated and associated with her through her years. She was a devoted believer in the Baha’i Faith and she relished being a part of the Martin Luther King Memorial Scholarship Committee of the Shoals, and the Baha’i Community of the Shoals. She was a generous sponsor of a book scholarship and children’s moral education and spirituality classes. The family thanks the ALS Clinic of Crestwood Hospital, the ALS Association, North Alabama Regional Medical Center, UAB Hospital, and Gentiva Hospice for their service, as well as Kerry and Tanja Goode as advisors. For those who feel moved to honor Dr. Kayfan, a donation to the ALS Association will be exceptionally meaningful as the mysterious and devastating disease remains to this day without a known cause and without any cure: ALS.org, 1300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22209.
