Rajnikant Desai

1928 - 2022

Rajnikant Desai
October 22, 1928 - November 11, 2022
Rajnikant Thakorbhai Desai passed away peacefully at home in San Francisco on November 11, 2022. He was born in Bombay on October 22, 1928, to Thakorbhai and Chandrakanta Desai of Hansot, Gujarat. Raj was a brilliant student and in 1949 graduated with a BS in Structural Engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune. Dreaming of further studies, he traveled by boat to the US in 1951 where he earned a MS in Structural Engineering from UC Berkeley in 1953. While living at International House, he met his true love, Helen Crane. They married in 1954 and settled in San Francisco where they shared 68 years together, celebrating the best of their east-west cultures. In 1974 he formed his own successful engineering business, Raj Desai Associates. His firm specialized in seismic engineering and their many projects dot San Francisco's downtown, the Bay Area, California and Nevada.
Raj touched family and friends with his warmth, generosity, compassion, humble nature, quick mind and his desire to make the world a better place. His bright smile put everyone he met at ease. Raj was a life-long student and an avid reader. Following his retirement in 1998, he followed Helen's passion by becoming a docent at the Asian Art Museum as well as the Fine Arts Museums of SF. His scholarly approach and his love of art made his tours engaging and memorable.
Raj was a champion of many social, educational, political, environmental and spiritual organizations. In 1970 he and Helen founded Richmond Environment Action (REA) and established one of the first recycling centers of SF. He was founding member and president of both the Asian Indian Association of America and the Association of Asian Indian Engineers of America. His participation was instrumental in winning minority status for Asian Indian Engineers. He and Helen were founders of SACHI, Society for the Art & Cultural Heritage of India, a non-profit that just celebrated its 25th year.
Raj and Helen cherished their trips to India to visit family, stopping along the way to experience the beauty, arts and culture of many places such as Indonesia, the Galapagos Islands and Turkey.
Raj is survived by his wife Helen and children Monica (Steve), Chand (Sylvia), Meera (Charles), grandchildren Anya, Anjali, Danika, Ava, Miro, Lucas and Arjuna.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Raj's name to:
Save the Redwoods
Earthjustice
ACLU
A memorial service will be held in February 2023. For more details, please contact Raj's daughter, Monica at: monica.desai.henderson@gmail.com