Terence O'Donnell was born in Portland, Oregon in 1924. In addition to farming during his years in Iran, he received three Fulbright lectureships at Iranian universities. In 1972 he returned to Portland and became active in the Oregon Historical Society. He is the author of several books about Oregon, and Seven Shades of Memory, a collection of short fiction about Iran and Garden of the Brave in War. Terence O'Donnell died in March 2001.