An American love story offers a lesson for the country and the world

From different worlds, Amir and Kathleen Naghdi shared a lasting love. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

It’s an American love story, a story of two people who were meant to be together even though they came from such worlds-apart backgrounds.

It’s also a story of faith, a faith that helps a couple grow even deeper in love.

Amir Naghdi was from the Middle East, a native of Iran, a country steeped in the Islamic faith.

Kathleen Vaughan was from the Midwest, a native of the Indiana city of Lafayette, a young woman who embraced her Catholic faith.

They met and started to fall in love when he was at Purdue University, where he had come to work on his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering.

“Dad was perfect for her,” recalls Irene Kovacs, one of the couple’s eight children.

“While they were dating, Mom said she wanted their children to be baptized and raised Catholic. Dad, at first, protested. It was his brother who changed his mind. Dad didn’t practice Islam, so why was it a big deal to him? Dad let it go. My parents were married in less than a year.”

Early in their marriage, tragedy struck when a neighbor was mowing his lawn. The lawnmower shot a rock into their yard, hitting their son on the side of his head, leading to the boy’s death a few days later.

A move to Indianapolis followed, where the family grew and Kathleen’s faith held strong.

“Raising seven children had many challenges, but Mom was a fierce prayerful woman,” notes Kovacs, a member of St. Simon the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis. “She prayed the rosary daily and went to daily Mass. She prayed for all of us. She especially prayed for Dad that he would come to know God.”

That hope turned into a seed when Kovacs graduated from high school.  

“I was discerning what God may have been calling me to do,” she recalls. “I met some consecrated women who lived in Rhode Island, and I wanted to see if it was for me. I spent five months there. I realized it wasn’t where God wanted me to stay, but during that time Dad was so distraught with me being gone.

“I asked him if I could teach him the Our Father, and he said yes. I told him that I prayed it every day, and if he prayed it too, we would meet in that prayer. I also asked him if he would be willing to go to Sunday Mass with Mom, for we would meet in the Mass. Dad started going to Mass with Mom. He listened to the readings intently and would point out similarities of the Bible to the Koran.”

The seed of faith took root.

“About 15 years ago, Dad was at St. Vincent hospital,” Kovacs notes. “My sister, Linda, was visiting him. Visiting hours were almost over. She said, ‘I’m sorry, Dad. I have to go, and you’ll be here all by yourself.’ Dad said, ‘I won’t be alone. He will be with me.’ And Dad pointed at the crucifix hanging on the wall.

“Mom’s prayers were working. God was working on Dad’s heart.”

In the years that followed, her mother’s health suffered as she dealt with heart problems. The combination of her father’s growing faith and her mother’s decline led to a phone call Kovacs will never forget.

“Three months before she died, she called me,” Kovacs says. “She was so happy. She told me that Linda asked Dad if he wanted to get baptized, and Dad said yes!”

After the baptism, “Mom’s health went downhill,” Kovacs says. “She died two days after Mother’s Day [in 2023]. Mom and Dad were just a few months away from celebrating 63 years of marriage. Losing her was so hard on him.”

Six months later, her father was in a car accident as a passenger. He never recovered from it.

“I called my parish priest, Father Doug Marcotte, and asked if he would come and anoint Dad, and he did,” Kovacs says. “Dad died later that night, surrounded by all of his children.  Because Dad accepted baptism, he had a full Catholic funeral.”

It marked one more chapter in a story of love and faith.

“Dad had turned 95 a month before he died,” Kovacs says. “He had never been in a car accident, but that is how God took him from this world. I wonder sometimes if he was asking God to take him since he couldn’t stand to live without Mom. And I believe Mom held on long enough to witness his baptism.” 

She sums up her parents’ story as a lesson for a country and a world that is often divided today.

“Their love lasted for decades. They were from two different worlds, yet they made their marriage work. Our world could learn from their story.” †

 

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