Amir Attari, 71, a chemist who helped create the eternal flame that marks President John F. Kennedy’s grave, died Saturday, March 16, in his San Diego home. A native of Iran, Mr. Attari came to the United States to attend college. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Adams State College in Colorado and his master’s degree from Loyola University in Chicago. In 1957 he took a job at the Chicago Institute of Gas Technology, where he eventually became head of operations in the chemical research services department, his daughter Naheed said. Mr. Attari was part of the team that created the Kennedy eternal flame at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, one of the first that could withstand high winds, his daughter said. He published papers for the energy industry and shared a patent with another scientist on a method to extract arsenic from gases. He retired in 1994 but kept busy as a consultant. Mr. Attari, a longtime resident of Barrington, moved in the 1990s to San Diego. His family remembers him as a kind, thoughtful man willing to share his knowledge. “He was not known for monosyllabic answers–to anything,” his daughter said. “He was perpetually lecturing.”Mr. Attari was an avid gardener and poet and a musician who played the violin and sitar. In addition to his daughter, Mr. Attari is survived by his wife of 42 years, Mariam; another daughter, Jaleh Attari-Tepps; two sons, Jamsheed and Sassan; three brothers, Hossein, Mohammed and Nasrollah; and four grandchildren. Services have been held.
