Anil K. Mandal

Anil K. Mandal, M.D., 81, passed away peacefully on January 19, 2017, after a brief illness. He was a resident of St. Augustine for 17 years, and he was still actively practicing as a nephrologist in Palatka up until the time of his death.
Dr. Mandal's greatest pleasure in life was caring for his patients. He was born in Kolkata, India and was one of six children of Nirmal and Kamala Mandal. He attended medical school in Kolkata from where he graduated with top honors and won several medals for his academic accomplishments. He immigrated to the United States in 1969, where he completed his medical training at the University of Illinois in Chicago. He then joined the Veterans Administration Health System in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and continued to serve the veterans of this nation for over 20 years during his tenure at the VA hospitals in Augusta, Georgia and Dayton, Ohio, where he was ultimately made a full professor.
He was an accomplished and impassioned researcher, and had published innumerable articles, book chapters, and several textbooks. He shared his knowledge profusely and lectured to medical providers all over the world. He was an uncompromising and tireless advocate for his patients throughout his career, and over the past decade, he focused on managing chronic kidney disease without dialysis, with a priority on maintaining the highest quality of life for his patients. He established the Mandal Diabetes Research Foundation to promote the effective treatment of diabetes.
He also was actively planning to establish a clinic in New Delhi, India, as a joint venture with the Harbhajan Singh and Mandal Diabetes Foundation of India. Dr. Mandal was an equally dedicated father to his two daughters, and imbued in them the same unflinching dedication that he always possessed in all of his pursuits. He enjoyed walking on the beach and tending to his rose garden.
Dr. Mandal's value system in life consisted of two elements: his drive and his dreams, which is how he would want to be remembered by all those who knew him. He also would want us to pursue our own dreams with the same fervor that he did. He was preceded in death by his wife, Pranati Mandal, and is survived by his daughters, Atashi Mandal, Aditi Mandal-West, his son-in- law, Larry West, longtime companion and friend Karen Kidwell, and two brothers in India, Sanat and Himadri Mandal.
Further notice about services will be provided this coming week. Friends may sign the online register at www.themastersfuneralhomes.com. Memorial gifts may be sent to Putnam First Cancer Fund, 800 Zeagler Dr., Palatka, FL 32177. Masters Funeral Home of Palatka is in charge of arrangements