Tara Rao Vangury

Mrs. Tara Rao Vangury was born in Anakapalli, India in March 1940. She was a brilliant student who earned her Masters degree in Chemistry at the age of 20. She married our dad Dr. V Chalapati Rao and continued to work as a college professor.

Our family initially came to the US in 1966 when our father was selected as a Fulbright Scholar. After a few years, they returned to Nagpur, India where our dad further pursued his research interests at NEERI. In 1980, our family made the permanent move to the US, where our mom worked alongside our father in the Virology department at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. With our father's unexpected passing in 1986, our 46-year-old mom was suddenly left with the tremendous responsibility of raising four daughters, by herself as a young widow, as she courageously chose to remain in the US for our education.

Over the years, our mom passionately nurtured a large variety of interests, many of which were atypical for someone of her background. She was an incredible cook and loved tending to her garden, which in any given year contained 50-70 plants. She taught herself how to organically fertilize them in order to harvest rare fruits like sitafal, and her beloved Brahmakamalam flower. Soon after our father's passing, our mom self-initiated a lifelong interest in the stock market, and fervently dove into her new fast-paced world of daily trades. Her mornings began diligently with her garden & CNBC! She was also a longtime sports fan. She loved to watch NFL games, has attended countless Houston Rockets games since the 1980s, and has also enjoyed many Houston Astros games including a World Series game! Her love of traveling took her throughout the world ~ though we must of course make special mentions of Las Vegas and Coushatta!

Above all else, she was happiest when surrounded by her family. Her daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren were her pride and joy, and her love for us was boundless. She loved to cook and generously share each of her garden harvests with us. She taught us strength by example, grace through kindness and forgiveness, and courage by the way she faced life's hardest battles with determination and optimism. She loved selflessly, devotedly, and unconditionally as a daughter, sister, wife, mother and ammamma. We will miss her laughter, her wisdom, and her amazing life stories; but most of all, we will miss the way she made each of us feel so very deeply and unconditionally loved.

She is survived by her four daughters Nagasri, Anuradha, Sujatha, Hema; three sons-in-law Ryan, William and Jeff; six grandchildren Tara (and husband Mark), David (and wife Kaylee), Preston (and wife Mary), Christopher, Serena, and Alyssa. Our mom now joins her husband Dr. V Chalapati Rao, her parents Sri Mamidanna Kondala Rao and Srimati Bangaramma, and many other loved ones in eternal peace. Her extraordinary spirit lives on in the gardens she has planted, the journeys she has inspired, and her family whom she cherished and loved with the purest of hearts.

We would like to extend our deepest and most sincere appreciation for all the love, support and care shown to our most precious mom and our entire family through the years. We are forever thankful to her siblings for their daily calls with her; in addition to the countless notes, cards, calls, and messages of love

from family and friends throughout the world.

In her honor, please consider planting some beautiful flowers, or try your hand

at nurturing a new fruit or vegetable tree. Donations can also be made to St Jude Children's Research Hospital in her memory.