Dr. David Nesaraja Ratnavale

Ratnavale

Dr. David Nesaraja Ratnavale

Dr. David Nesaraja Ratnavale (95), beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend passed away November 29, 2023. The eighth and youngest child of William and Madeline Ratnavale, a precocious David went on from Trinity College boarding school to graduate from from the University of Ceylon Medical School in 1954. His career began at Kandy Hospital, two years later joining his older brother John with an internship in NY followed by Residency Training at the Philadelphia Psychiatric Hospital. In 1960 he was awarded a NIMH Int'l Post Doctorate Fellowship in Psychoanalytic therapy at the prestigious Chestnut Lodge Hospital in Rockville MD. He returned to Ceylon via the USSR and Japan in 1963, Married Ann-Kristin Dannhed of Karlskrona, Sweden, a foreign service officer at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, DC, and started private practice. In 1965 he travelled to the UK to secure his DPM and FRCP certifications. He returned to Ceylon via Sweden where his first son Ramarro was born. He continued his private practice and an interest in Transcultural Psychiatry. He studied the Veddha Community and Ayurvedic treatment of mental patients producing a documentary film which lead to many international invitations to lecture on the subject. 2nd son Marcel was born in 1967 and later that year the family returned to the USA for a permanent position again at Chestnut Lodge. In 1973 David was the first western trained psychiatrist to be invited to China by the health Ministry and was later appointed Professor at the Shanghai Medical University where he arranged for the first academic exchanges between American and Chinese Medical Schools. David was a founding Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Eastern Virginia Medical School and the Training Director of the Psychiatry Residency program in Norfolk (1973-1979). Through his experience in supervising and treating cases of war related trauma at the affiliated Veterans and Naval Hospitals, he gained new insights into Post-traumatic stress disorders. As a recipient of the Distinguished Visiting Scientist award at the NIH (1979-1983), he headed a taskforce on Refugee Mental health which took him to camps on the Thai/Cambodian border. David continued his private practice and as a member of the Psychiatric Institute of Washington for the next 15 years. He remained active as a founding member of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists, authoring many publications, lecturing and conducting workshops around the world. David's contributions extended beyond the realm of psychiatry into the field of disaster management. In 1997, Sri Lankan President C.B. Kumaratunga invited him to head a National Task Force on Human Disaster Management whose action plan became an integral part of the Sri Lankan Governments peace building strategy. During this time in Sri Lanka he lectured at the Rotherfield Psychiatric Society founded in 1937 by his father Dr. William S. Ratnavale a pioneer in the field of Psychiatry. David will be remembered by the innumerable friends, family, patients and strangers around the world who's lives were made better by his gregarious personality, humor, compassion and concern for others. David is preceded in death by his parents, five brothers, three sisters and his son Johan Ramarro. He is survived by his wife Ann-Kristin; son Marcel; and grandchildren Madeline, Jillian, Olivia, Anna and William. A celebration of life service will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, January 13, 2024 at St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, 5450 Massachusetts Ave., Bethesda, MD 20816 and Livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/StDunstansBethesda