TULSA, Okla. — More than one hundred friends, family, and colleagues mourned the loss of Leila Faraji and Rosa Faraji at a south Tulsa cemetery on just two days after floodwaters swept the family.
The family of four almost reached a friend's house east of Leonard, near a small flooded bridge off US-64, when the overwhelming floodwaters carried the SUV into a creek.
The father managed to save himself and his ten-year-old daughter, but his wife, Leila Faraji (referred to as "Dr. Leila" by friends), and their youngest daughter, Rosa, could not escape the unforgiving rapids.
- Previous coverage >>> Bodies found swept away in Wagoner Co. floodwater identified
Recovery crews discovered the bodies of Leila and Rosa in the Arkansas River on April 21. Following Islamic customs, their souls were honored one day later.
WATCH: Friends, family remember mother, daughter killed in floodwaters:
Family members, still grappling with grief, declined to share their thoughts or photos with 2 News.
However, friends and colleagues spoke glowingly of the Faraji family. Dr. Leila was remembered as a compassionate mechanical engineer, and little Rosa was described as sweet and a budding gymnastics star.
"They always help the community and help other people," family friend Nader Olomi told 2 News. "You ask them something, and they’re there without even questioning what you're going to do."
OSU-Tulsa professor Jay Hanan said he worked with Faraji when she was a PhD researcher in mechanical engineering. Her husband graduated with the same doctorate from OSU-Tulsa.
"Leila (was) a true servant and supported (her husband), supported the family, cared so much, loving. All the things that you would call a good person."
Both men said the Faraji family could have found success anywhere with their expertise, but chose to raise their family in Broken Arrow and became a success story for the Iranian-American community and for Green Country.
"(They) started a business (and) made that work through COVID," Hanan said. "I mean, tons of friends, and working now in the lab making things happen."
“It’s such a sad, sad tragedy that something like this had to happen," Olomi said. "But you cannot stop destiny, you know? Whatever is determined for us by God.”
A GoFundMe was started to help the family.
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