Gayatri Govindarajulu

GOVINDARAJULU Gayatri ("Gita") Gupta, 76, of Albany, CA, and formerly of Lexington, KY, passed away on Wed, March 6. Born June 10, 1936 in Lahore, India (currently Pakistan), she took the bold step of coming to the United States as a single woman in 1959 to pursue graduate studies. In the course of her lifetime, Gayatri completed three Masters Degrees, one in Anthropology from the University of New Delhi, one in Sociology from the University of Minnesota, and an M.S.W. from the University of Kentucky. She completed all of the coursework for a Ph.D. in Sociology. Together, she and her husband lived and raised their family in Cleveland, OH, Berkeley, CA, and Lexington, KY. Gayatri spent most of her life in Lexington, where she made many friends and impacted many lives. She was very involved in the lives of her three daughters, ensuring that they received a well-rounded education and had every opportunity to succeed. Gayatri taught Sociology courses at the University of Kentucky, served as the Director of a federally-funded job training program in Lexington, and was employed by Metropolitan Life Insurance in the Medicare claims unit. She worked as a social worker for many years with a home health care agency and a dialysis clinic. Gayatri had the unparalleled ability to make people feel at home and anticipate their needs. She was a fabulous cook and a wonderful hostess. She helped many people, from the clients she served as a social worker to new arrivals in Lexington, who needed help getting settled in an unfamiliar town. Gayatri will be remembered by many for her incredible zest for life, her unfailing humanity, and her resilience in the face of adversity. Her indomitable spirit was exemplified by the way she maintained her dignity in the last years of her life after suffering a massive stroke. Gayatri was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, Zakkula ("Raju"), and is survived by her three children, Dr. Sushma (Leif) Magnuson (of Albany, CA), Sadhna (Michael) True (of Lexington, KY), and Dr. Usha Govindarajulu (of Jersey City, NJ); three grandchildren, Neil and Nina Magnuson, and Sitara True; and four siblings, Alankar Gupta, Ratna Prabha Gupta, Vijay Gupta and Priya G. Vadehra. The family wishes to thank all of the amazing caregivers who took care of Gayatri at Raksha Care Home in Albany and with Comfort Keepers in Lexington. The family held a private ceremony on March 12 in California and is planning a memorial service for a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Gayatri's memory to the National Stroke Association or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.