Community Support

Ferruh Demirmen, Ph.D., age 90, passed away peacefully in his home in Katy, Texas, on September 29, 2024, surrounded by his loving family.

Ferruh was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He is survived by his wife, Tulin; his son, Okan (Rebekah) Demirmen; his daughter, Sibel (Scott) Henry; and grandchildren, Emerson Ozan and Ayla Jacqueline.

Born on April 7, 1934, in Bursa, Türkiye, Ferruh was the youngest of seven children. After high school he was awarded a government scholarship to study abroad at the University of Kansas where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology. In 1965, Ferruh and Tulin married in Ankara. Upon returning to the United States, Ferruh continued his education at Stanford University, obtaining both a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in Geology. He then worked for Shell International Petroleum Company, holding positions in the Netherlands, Malaysia, California, Qatar, and Houston before retiring.

After retiring, Ferruh became an independent consultant specializing in reserves estimation and production geology.  He published over 90 technical articles on geology and petroleum engineering. In addition, he became a prolific publisher and lecturer on issues of historical importance in Turkish history. 

Ferruh travelled to Türkiye often and loved spending time by the sea.  He had a deep appreciation for opera, enjoyed playing bridge, loved gardening, and cherished spending time with his family. His travels around the world enriched his family’s lives, exposing them to diverse cultures and experiences.

Ferruh Demirmen leaves behind a profound legacy of knowledge, love, and advocacy for his community and heritage. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

Mother’s Day is a great time to remember and express our gratitude to our mothers and all mothers. We, as ATA-Houston prepared a coloring book for our kids to remember memorable mothers of Turkey. These are only couple of the names who reached millions of kids and touched their lives. The book is now in the archives of ATA-Houston digitally and can be an evergreen document for our community.

We have completed two semesters of with 4 classes Ladin, Meşe, Çınar and Servi by our amazing, devoted teachers.

• Our teachers also held sharing and brainstorming session each week after the lessons to improve the interaction and lessons.
• For each and every student, one to one parent teacher interviews held regularly to share the progress of the students.

Our students prepared presentations, sing songs, read poems on Turkish national holidays, and deepen their knowledge of Turkish history, holidays and culture. Students were also taught about Turkish cuisine and learned to cook simple Turkish dishes as a part of our engaged learning principle by our accomplished professionals with years of experience in teaching Turkish language.

We had a great crowd full of amazing women in American – Turkish Community in Houston. We had an opportunity to reflect on the great progress made towards gender equality and celebrate the courage and determination of women played extraordinary roles in history. We all can make impact on our community in our own ways.

It was amazing to see all the excitement our students and parents had when we met before the school opening. Each student received a special Turkish Language School bag which includes a letter from their teacher, readers according to their level and stationary from Turkey. Parents had a chance to meet & greet other parents, our school director and academic consultant.