Som Dev Obituary (1939 - 2021) - The Villages, Florida

To our dearest friends and family, It is with very heavy hearts that we share with you of the passing of our beloved father, Som Dev, on this Friday, June 18th, 2021, at the age of nearly 82. Although he battled Parkinson's for over 2 decades, he maintained strength, dignity, and purpose until the end. He had many passions in his life. He was a very social man, really the life of a party in his prime, full of witty comments and loved to make others laugh. He made many dear and deep friendships in his life, friends that he would do anything for and he enjoyed this in return from them; people he truly felt were his extended family. He taught us all the immense value of friendship and loyalty, something he cherished as he voyaged far away from his homeland at a time where contact and visits home were not easily possible. We all view our friendships this way and he gave us this true amazing gift in our lives. He loved travel and this wanderlust and desire to explore this beautiful Earth runs strong in all his children and grandchildren. He loved to exercise daily and was an amazing speed walker. He continued to walk daily until the end. Sundeep and Sangeeta are passionate speed walkers and enjoyed this immensely with our dear father. He had a great enjoyment of the outdoors & hiking. He took us on hikes growing up and we did many family hiking trips together. He powered through this despite his disease. He loved great food. He enjoyed this immensely and has passed this on his whole family as well. He was a truly loving and caring husband. He was our mother's rock. He planned everything to make sure our mother was taken care of, always reassuring her that they would be alright despite how hard things got. He was fiercely independent and remained so against all odds. Amazingly, he never once complained about his ailment. He showed us all such unending love. We held his hands, and he was able to listen to his favorite religious hymns, especially from the renowned ghazal singer, Jagjit Singh, as he took his last breaths. He died peacefully with his family by his side. Our father was a kind and gentle man, one who deeply adhered to his values, principles, and strong convictions. He has had an amazing journey. He was born in Dera Ghazi Khan district of NW British India (now Pakistan). In 1947, his family fled during the partition of India. He studied hard against all odds after losing everythign in the partition, and yet earned a full scholarship from India to Howard University, Washington DC, where he studied engineering. After completing his Masters' degree in Industrial engineering in Kansas, he had a long & successful career as an executive at IBM. Family meant everything to him. He sacrificed so much in his life to give us the life we have today, and we are all eternally grateful. He worked very hard so his children could have the American dream. His focus was his children and grandchildren. He is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Bina, his son Sundeep and daughter-in-law Tara, his daughter Sandi & his son-in-law Sanjay, his grandchildren Siona, Rahul, Sarina, Ayanna, and Shaan. In addition, he had many wonderful friends that he loved and loved him. He will be so dearly missed. Our hearts ache that his warm smile, his expressive eyes and his gentle embrace which is no longer ours to enjoy. He amazingly gathered the strength at the end, while his lungs were failing to open his eyes and give us that caring tender look. He word for word , one at a time, reciting the Gayatri mantra, one he lived by his whole life and taught us all as young children. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ****DUE TO Covid19 RESTRICTIONS: CHAPEL LIMIT ONLY 75 PEOPLE PERMITTED **** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Funeral Puja, Viewing & Last Rites: Ruby Memorial in North Brunswick, NJ 10:45-11:30 Havan 11:20-1:15 Visitation and Memorial 1:30 Ceremony promptly concludes. Funeral will be LIVE STREAMED on YouTube Live Channel Below: https://www.youtube.com/c/COVIDFunerals Arrangements are under the respectful care and direction of Funeral Director: Christine Cuoco of Ruby Memorial. Family & Friends may offer prayers and condolences at: www.rubymemorialhome.com