Dr. Krishna Prasad Rai

1959 - 2018

Dr. Krishna Prasad Rai, a family physician who exemplified the term, making house calls for patients and treating them like family, died Friday at the University of Michigan Medical Center. He was 59.

Dr. Rai had a heart attack and was in and out of hospitals in recent days, his family said.

Medicine was a family business for Dr. Rai. His father was Dr. Prakash Chandra, his brother was a doctor, and so was his brother-in-law, his wife, Kiran Rai, said. Born Feb. 23, 1959 to Dr. Chandra and Sumathi Rai in the small town of Padubidri in southern India, he watched his father practice community medicine.

While, in a way, he was raised to become a doctor, it was also a natural fit for him, as he loved his job, especially working with patients.

"He had always done family practice medicine, he really liked the connection with the people," Mrs. Rai said.

Dr. Rai earned his medical degree in India, and then did his residency at the former Mercy Hospital, beginning in 1992. After his residency, he began his career at Elmore Medical Associates, where he worked from 1996 until his death.

He was a dedicated physician, spending six or seven days a week in the office or checking on patients in their homes if they had trouble traveling. There were long hours, but not lost time. Work was his passion.

"No one would go that much unless they did really like it," son Samin Rai said.

Jody Keller, officer manager at Elmore Medical Associates, said she couldn't have asked for a better boss, as Dr. Rai treated staff - just as he did patients - liked family. He took a leadership role in 2012, and then took over the practice in 2016.

"It didn't matter to him if he made $100 or $10,000. It was never about the money," Ms. Keller said. "He put us first, he put our families first, he put his family first."

He hated having patients wait, and tried hard to stay on time during the work day so that no one had lengthy periods in the waiting room, Ms. Keller said.

Dr. Rai was a gentle, caring man of few words, but also one who never met a stranger, his family said. He invited the clerk at a gas station to Samin's first birthday.

Outside of work, his focus was on his family. He and his wife married Jan. 3, 1988, and soon after he moved to the Toledo area.

He developed a love of Detroit sports teams, an affinity he passed on to his son, who remembers late nights watching games with his father. At times, he'd hide Samin under a blanket when his wife came by, as he was less strict on bed times, his son remembered with a laugh.

Dr. Rai developed a strong bond with his mother-in-law, and the pair spent many Sundays in casinos. He was an avid card player, mostly rummy, and he and his wife would spend many a night playing cards with friends late into the night.

Samin said he learned about work ethic from his father, and compassion for others. He was a man who led by example.

"It was kind of the idea that even if they weren't family, they were worth your time and effort," Samin Rai said of his father's patients.

Dr. Rai is survived by his mother, Sumathi Rai; his wife, Kiran Rai; children Samin and Ahalya; brothers Ram Rathan Rai and Gowrish Rai; and sisters Rekha Shetty and Veena Shetty.

Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday at Walker Funeral Home in Sylvania, and services will begin at 5 p.m.

The family suggests tributes to the Mercy Foundation or Ronald McDonald House of Northwest Ohio.