Clad in a smart suit and hands sparkling with diamonds, Sarah Ashoori assures one of her customers that the jewelry piece she wants can be delivered by the weekend.

"I can cover the cost, it's no problem," she says to the woman.

Ashoori, 50, is proud of the way she and her employees regard customers who come into her family's business, Ashoori & Co., the largest jewelry store in the Central Valley.

"We treat customers like family. We treat them with respect. I don't care if they spend $1 or $10,000, they're welcome," she said.

But this attitude isn't just something Ashoori extends to her business relations. Everything from her smile to the personable words that come after that smile says that she is genuine.

How she treats others is simply a part of who she is, according to her best friend of 30 years, Odelia Davis.

"She's very consistent. She's just one of the most unselfish human beings I know," Davis said. "She's good all around: She's a dedicated daughter, a mother, a wife and a friend."

Rooted in family

Everything Sarah Ashoori does is for her children, she said.

"My love and passion are my children. My family means the world to me," she said. "I could lose everything today to save my kids. When you have kids, you have to put them first."

Her daughter, Christina Rosh, is 24, recently married and living in San Jose. Her son, Mike Ashoori, is 22, living in Visalia and working as a gemologist at Ashoori and Co. He recently proposed to his fiancée, and Ashoori said she's gearing up for another wedding.

And though she knows it will be a few years, she's on the edge of her seat waiting to become a grandmother.

"I am so ready for that. I'm going to spoil my grandkids rotten," she said with a gleeful smile.

She said her husband, Joseph, is also ready to enlarge their family. The two are always on board with each other, and they can't imagine being without the other. They work together, live together, travel together, and just have a good time together, Ashoori said.

"We complete each other," Joseph Ashoori said. "She's bright and smart, and all these years, I've never had a chance to say that she's made the wrong decision. Respect comes from all these years of working and living together."

While some couples can't fathom spending so much time with each other, the Ashooris say they keep a simple rule of not bringing work home with them in order to maintain a happy business and family.

Culture

It isn't just her immediate family that Ashoori holds dear to her heart. Her extended family is large and loves to get together for celebrations.

She is Assyrian, and this ethnicity goes hand in hand with traditions of cooking multiple-course meals and hosting great parties -- both of which she is known for doing well.

Ashoori said Assyrians are often mistakenly associated with other cultures, such as Armenian or Arab, but she said it is actually an ancient race that speaks Aramaic -- "The language that we spoke is the language Jesus spoke," she explains.

Teaching the language, food and other traditions of her culture to her children was very important to Ashoori. She said her children may have not understood it all when they were young, but now they appreciate having knowledge of their heritage.

Most Assyrians are strongly rooted in Christianity, she said, and that's actually why her father moved her family from where they were living in Iraq to Turlock when she was a small child.

"He wanted us to live in a Christian environment," she said.

Ashoori said her father was one of the biggest influences on her life, and she said her gregarious personality is something she inherited from him. In turn, her son Mike also has that same outgoing spirit, and said he's learned a lot from his mother's positive outlook.

"No matter what the situation is, she always stays positive," Mike said. "If something were to go wrong, she's the one to say, 'Everything's going to be all right.'"

He also said that the motto his maternal grandfather passed down to the family is one of his favorites: "If you don't have laughter, you don't have anything."

People, people, people

Ashoori gains much of her fun and laughter from her relationships with other people. One of the reasons she likes being in the forefront of the community is so she can meet new people.

"I think I would die if I didn't have people," she said.

Her husband said he's admittedly the reserved one in the relationship, and that in their case, opposites must attract. While he handles buying and gemology at Ashoori & Co., Sarah is vice president and conducts marketing and public relations businesses.

She loves having big parties at her home, and best friend Davis said she's very persuasive when it comes to getting other to enjoy themselves.

"Before you know it, you'll be doing a line dance, even if you don't know the steps," Davis said with a laugh.

The two enjoy doing many fun things together, such as having tea, and shopping. Especially shopping.

"She absolutely loves shopping," Davis said. "And she always looks her best. Every time you see her, she takes the time to present herself well."

It would be fitting that she has an eye for fashion, especially since she said she tries on every piece of jewelry they sell before buying it.

Her father owned a jewelry store in Turlock for decades, so she became familiar with the trade early.

Friend and customer Dr. Omar Araim jokingly said that he has mixed feelings about Ashoori's skill at picking pieces that will fit a customer's style.

"She can see a piece and know that it's just right for a customer," he said. "Which isn't always good for me, as a doctor who might stay away from his wife too long at work."

Ashoori said that, besides being surrounded by beautiful designer jewelry, her favorite part of the business is simply that they make people happy.

"We have weddings, and anniversaries, and it's just great to see that woman or man get a piece of jewelry," she said. "...And of course, diamonds are my favorite. They go with everything and make you sparkle."

In the community

For Ashoori, making others happy doesn't stop at a diamond ring. She also believes in playing a role in the community in order to better others' lives.

She joined the Visalia Chamber of Commerce six years ago, and this year will be her second as chairwoman of the Annual Business Awards Banquet.

Chamber Board President Connie Kautz said Ashoori is always ready to whole-heartedly volunteer for a committee or project.

"Anytime she is chairing something, she's always passionate about it and always does it with the highest degree of perfection," Kautz said. "She just has everything in order and has an amazing way with people."

Ashoori has also used her people skills to help mentor new physicians in the area. That's how her friend and customer, Dr. Araim, came to meet her two years ago. He said it was the Ashoori family that made him feel he and his wife were a part of the community.

"You could see how somebody who knows a lot of people could be self-serving, but she really believes in doing good things for other people, so they, in turn, can do good things for others," Araim said. "We've never lived anywhere before that was like that, but it happens pretty regularly here and she does it in a pleasant way."

Ashoori is also heavily involved with helping the Visalia Rescue Mission, which provides shelter and other aid to homeless people.

"It is my baby. I enjoy helping them the most because it's a hope for someone who has nothing," she said.

Danny Little, director of the Mission, said Ashoori's help has brought in thousands of dollars every year. She has donated a $5,000 piece of jewelry every year to be hung on the organization's Christmas tree for the local auction, which is then raffled off.

"If I just donated $5,000, that would be it," she explained. "But if I give them a $5,000 piece of jewelry, it can bring in anywhere from $25,000 to $48,000."

Little said what Ashoori has done for the mission --not just financially, but volunteering in person -- "has helped more people than she will ever be aware of."

By Hillary S. Meeks
www.visaliatimesdelta.com