Lalit Kumar Khosla

1932 - 2022

At the age of 90 years, beloved father, grandfather, husband, and friend Lalit Kumar Khosla left this world on Dec. 21, 2022, surrounded by his family. Lalit was born in New Delhi on November 27, 1932, as the third child of his mother, Ram Rakhi Mohan Khosla and father, Mohan Lal Khosla.

He was a mischievous child who frequently found himself in trouble for climbing trees when he was told not to and taking out neighbors' kites with a slingshot.

At 15, Lalit lived through the partition of India and witnessed mass casualties and chaos between Hindus and Muslims. His father had him take shifts with other men of the household on his grandfather's farm to protect them from any violence. He later said the experience defined his outlook on life.

Lalit graduated from Hindu College at the University of Delhi and began working for Louis Dreyfus Group as a commodities trader in the mid-1950s in Calcutta, India. His work required him to travel the world to close important deals with governments and corporations. He primarily dealt in wheat, jute, corn, and soybean exports.

Lalit met Carol Ann Simpson in Calcutta in 1959. They married in 1963 and had two daughters, Anita and Lalita. As Lalit moved up during his nearly 40-year career, Louis Dreyfus sent him to London in 1966 and then to New York in 1974. The family made their home in Greenwich, CT.

At his core, Lalit was a sailor and a golfer despite never having seen the ocean or a putting green until he was in his 20s. In those days, he began sailing small boats on the Hooghly River near Calcutta and later played golf at a club not far from London.

When Lalit moved to the U.S., he purchased an 18-foot sailboat named Silly Goose, which he kept at Old Greenwich Yacht Club. He joined Indian Harbor Yacht Club in 1978, where he had a number of sailboats and powerboats through the years. Besides his first sailboat, all of Lalit's vessels were named Bijli, which means faster than lightning. He often recalled how much he enjoyed spring sailing, week-long boat trips, racing in the summers, and sailing during an early snowfall in the autumn. Lalit provided his wife, daughters, sons-in-law, and grandsons with many wonderful memories and adventures on the Long Island Sound.

Lalit joined the Greenwich Country Club in 1977 where he became a competitive and successful golfer. He won many golf tournaments at GCC, and the trophies now adorn his home. In his golden years, Lalit and Carol took up a second residence in Ft. Lauderdale before moving to Jupiter, Florida.

While Lalit provided his family with many years of happiness, he reminded them that his success was hard-earned and should be respected. "Your investments are not to be treated as a hammock, but as a safety net," he often said.

Lalit is survived by his loving wife Carol, his daughters Anita and Lalita, his grandchildren Kirin, Remy, and Sam, his brother Adarsh and sister Suman, and many relatives and friends around the world.

The family recently gathered together for a small Hindu ceremony. A private memorial service is being planned for this summer in Greenwich, CT.