Sri Seetha Ramachandram Challa
1925 – 2020
Sri Seetharamachandram (popularly known as CR garu during his working days and as Sitaram in the USA) hails from a large and traditional joint family in Coastal Andhra Pradesh (Kakinada), India. He obtained a master’s degree in Mathematics from Andhra University and taught the subject to countless students at the Andhra Polytechnic College in Kakinada until his retirement in the 1980s.
Sitaram had to shoulder his joint family’s responsibilities at a young age in his early twenties due to the unexpected demise of his beloved father. This has impacted his career development in many ways – but he cheerfully rose to the occasion by helping several younger sisters to get married and settle in their lives and helped his younger brother to become an engineer from his alma mater.
Sitaram and his wife Satyavathi (who died in 2016) devoted their lives to educate their two sons and four daughters achieve the highest levels of academic success that they can attain (for example – his eldest son Sri Krishna Challa obtained his doctorate in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The couple strived to help their daughters to excel in classical music (vocal singing and veena instrument) along with their professional education in engineering, science, and medicine.
Sitaram, although a man of few words, could be counted on for insightful advice under difficult circumstances and in life’s challenges – whether it be for family, colleagues, or friends. He was readily willing to volunteer for several community causes (such as founding an old age home for the needy in Kakinada) and has made a significant contribution to their success through several decades.
Sitaram migrated to the United States in the early 1980s to assist his children, then living in the West, to raise their children to become successful in their lives – thus further cementing his legacy as a successful patriarch of the family. During his life, he was the beloved father and grandfather – that was loved by one and all. He will be missed in the coming decades by his extended family members.
