Azizjon Buriev

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Azizjon Rakhmatjonovich Buriev was born in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on January 12, 1994 to Maxfiza and Rakhmat Buriev. Aziz grew up in his hometown of Samarkand with his parents and three brothers. He loved working on the family farm and being close with nature. He spent his younger days terrorizing the neighborhood by scaring off any outside potential suitors for the neighborhood girls and stealing fruit off the neighbor’s trees. When he was older, he spent much of his time working on the farm and ironically, even sleeping between the rows of onions to protect them from being stolen. Aziz first left home in 2013, to attend college in Dubai. After a year, he went back home to visit his family before moving to the United States where he would graduate Minnesota State University Moorhead with a Bachelor's Degree in Project Management. There he would also meet his future wife, Sarah Herman.

Aziz spent most of his time with his friends, family, and his beloved wife. He would always make time for fishing, even in lakes where there were no fish to be found. You would occasionally find him fishing at his in-laws pond where fish hadn’t been seen for years. It didn’t matter to him, just as long as he was casting a line. He loved to kayak in Detroit Lakes whenever possible, even deciding that it would be a good idea to propose to Sarah out on the water, in the deepest part of the lake with only one life jacket. He decided to throw his shirt (with the ring not tucked safely inside) across to Sarah, grabbing hold of the ring just before it hit the water. If he

wasn’t spending his time outside, he was either cooking and eating or lifting weights at the gym. Long after he was unable to do the cooking himself, he was still requesting various recipes and providing, in great detail, how to cook the meal. Aziz would attend regular poker nights with friends where he could challenge the best of them. However, his blackjack skills are another story. One of the last activities he could still enjoy doing was his weekly trips to the casino to “strike it rich”. He would frequently wake up from his jackpot winning dreams asking where his millions were.

He was blessed to be able to make it home one more time in November to see his family, especially his mother, who he hadn’t been able to see for years. Sarah was able to join him to see his childhood home and meet the rest of his family, including his baby niece Sitora, whom he named. They enjoyed a month in Uzbekistan before returning to the U.S.

Although his time on Earth was short, his humor and love for life will long be remembered by everyone he knew. Aziz passed peacefully at home holding Sarah’s hand. He is survived by his wife (Sarah Herman), brothers Rustam (Manzura), Anvar (Aziza), Laziz (Munisa), nieces Marjona, Rayhona, Shirin, Parizoda, Sarvinoz, Sitora, nephew Mukhamadamin, his parents Makhfiza and Rakhmat, in-laws Jerry and Cathy Herman.

Aziz's Celebration of Life will be held at Shorewood pub in Detroit Lakes on March 13th at 2:00.