Sambasiva Rao Allada

Sambasiva Rao (Rao or Sam) Allada passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at the age of 91 years. Rao was preceded in death by his wife, Jayalakshmi (Batchu) Allada. Rao is survived by his loving family: sons Vivek (Stacey), Ravi (Meghan), and Gopal;grandchildren Michael, David, Evan and Isabella; and the Allada family brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.
We remember Rao as a thoughtful, compassionate and purposeful individual who leaves a great legacy of his life's work. Rao was born in a tiny village in southeastern India, Kancharam, Andhra Pradesh. He was the first in his family to be educated beyond the fifth grade and was able to sustain his education through college only by receiving contributions from those in the community. He married Jayalakshmi(Jaya) on May 12, 1960. After being awarded a highly competitive scholarship, he was able to move from tropical India to the cold winters of Edmonton, Alberta. There he completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering, and then joined Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan in 1967 where Rao and Jaya lived for almost 50 years. They then moved to the Chicago area to be closer to their grandchildren Evan and Isabella. Since retirement, Rao turned his attention to writing books reflecting passionate interest in Hinduism. Over the course of his life, Rao was the patriarch for the large Indian community in Midland, Michigan and for the extended Batchu and Allada families, many of whom he sponsored and hosted. Rao traveled long distances and overcame great obstacles to provide his family opportunities. Rao always instilled in his children, each of whom would go onto careers in medicine and academia, the importance of knowledge, intellect and academics. Rao's story of perseverance has served as an inspiration to each of us, especially in difficult times. We will be forever grateful for his love and support and he will be greatly missed.
A limited memorial service will be held at N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Road in Glenview, IL on Monday, July 31, 1 – 3p CST. Family and friends can arrive at 12:30pm. Live Stream Link - https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTY5MDIzODA5NzI2MzI5MCZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw==