Chapman University economist Esmael Adibi, whose yearly forecasts were eagerly awaited by businesses owners, home buyers and consumers throughout California, died Friday from complications of a stroke, university officials said.

Adibi, 63, of Lake Forest was remembered Saturday by family and friends as one of the most respected economic forecasters in the state, a voice that many depended on to tell them how they would fare in the coming year.

And no matter how bad the news — such as when he predicted the 2008 recession — Adibi’s forecasts were laced with humor.

“He was a full-time entertainer and a part-time economist,” his son, Keeya Adibi, 28, said Saturday with a laugh.

Keeya Adibi remembered helping his father prepare for Chapman’s yearly state of the economy presentation with college President Jim Doti. Every year, Esmael Adibi ran through his jokes with his son, making sure they were actually funny.

Keeya Adibi pronounced the jokes too cheesy.

But they were always a hit with the audience.

“I had to sit there with a sock in my mouth because everybody was laughing,” Keeya said.

Esmael Adibi would later ask his son how many people in his row laughed and then would extrapolate that number to determine who many in the room found the jokes funny.

That’s one lesson Keeya Adibi says he won’t forget: don’t skimp on the jokes.

Adibi’s homespun manner and charm made him irreplaceable to the campus, Doti said in a statement Saturday.

“I’ve lost my closest friend and Chapman has lost one of its brightest stars,” said Doti. “It’s really difficult for me to imagine our university and our community without him.”

Adibi delivered his Chapman University Economic Forecasts for nearly four decades with Doti. He often was sought out by reporters for his take on key economic indicators in the state and nationwide.

“Essie Adibi had an amazing intellect and an unparalleled ability to describe the most complex economic concepts in a way that everyone could understand,” said Reginald Gilyard, dean of Chapman’s George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics, in a statement. “He was also an important advisor to me as I transitioned from the private sector to the world of academia. Up until his final days in the office I was learning from Essie.”

Lucy Dunn, president of the Orange County Business Council, remembered Adibi as “approachable and accessible.”

“Folks relied on him for accurate information as well as free market economic principles,” Dunn said. “His sense of humor and genuine affection through.”

Adibi came to Chapman in April 1974, freshly graduated from Tehran University. He flew 7,600 miles at a friend’s urging to attend a tiny college he knew next to nothing about.

Adibi arrived at Los Angeles International Airport with a single suitcase, barely managed to avoid boarding the Disneyland bus, and took a taxi to Chapman.

“And then,” Adibi recalled in a 2010 interview, “I realized they didn’t have a graduate degree in economics.”

No matter. He earned an MBA from Chapman while studying for his master’s in economics at Cal State Fullerton and later a Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University.

He worked his way through school at the Knowlwood restaurant in Fullerton, starting by peeling onions and ending as a manager.

Adibi had come to California with a plan: He was going to get a doctorate, then return to Iran and become a researcher in the central bank, one of a handful of Ph.D.s helping set economic policy. But then came the Iranian revolution, the fall of the shah, the rise of theocracy and the hostage crisis.

Adibi joined the Chapman faculty in 1978 and became the director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research in 1985.

Although one of the state’s greatest minds on the economy, Adibi never forgot his roots in the hamburger world and was his family’s grill master.

His son, Keeya, said Esmael Adibi was enamored with anything classy, such as Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack genre. His favorite song was Dean Martin’s “Sway.” He danced to the tune with daughter Roxanne at her wedding.

Besides his sense of funny, Esmael Adibi left his family with a sense of value that went beyond numbers and money, they said.

His favorite saying, Keeya Adibi said, was “Never compromise your principles. There’s no shortcuts in life.”

In addition to Keeya, Adibi is survived by his wife Jila, daughter Roxanne, son-in-law William, future daughter-in-law Irene, and grandchildren Nicholas and Alexander.

A memorial service will held on 11 a.m. April 16 in the Wallace All Faiths Chapel in the university’s Fish Interfaith Center.

Staff writer Jonathan Lansner contributed to this report.