A Note from Our Family

Ruby lived a life full of adventure, accomplishment, and joy. She was a force of nature and lived life on her own terms. Throughout her life, her nature and her principles drove her to be a vibrant, fierce, caring, and feminist force in the lives of her family, community, colleagues, and students.

We have created this website to share stories of Ruby’s life, much drawn from her own words, galleries of photos, and memories contributed by those who loved her.

We hope you can spend time with Ruby on this site and share with us.

It’s a gift for us to hear from each of you.

What happened?

On April 4th, 2024, Ruby had what the neurologists later described to us as a catastrophic hemorrhagic stroke fairly deep in her brain. This was her second stroke in the last 3 years. While she was able to almost completely recover from the first stroke, traveling to Africa & Europe, training herself to use chopsticks with her left hand, and dancing at family weddings, the prognosis for this second stroke was not the same.

She received wonderful care from the nurses and doctors at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose. After monitoring Ruby the doctor’s provided a very grim assessment that there was no real possibility of recovering a quality of life.

In her final days and hours, Ruby was able to open her eyes to see family and friends. She could hear and was aware of both her condition and surroundings.

Ruby passed peacefully on April 14th, 2024, on Baisakhi, the Bengali New Year. She was surrounded by Nik, Nishita, Ritik, her siblings Molly, Lily, Milly, Sudeep, and many of her extended family.

What can we do?

We are OK. Grief is real, and the process will take time.

Nik has been with Ritik or Nishita since the day after Ruby’s stroke. We are planning what the next phase of life will look like for all of us, but Nik will be with Ritik & Erin, or Nishita, Dave, Zamir, and Darius.

Ruby, given her strength of will and love for an exuberant life, wants life to continue. For us and for you. So we would ask:

• Spend time with your loved ones

• Give Nik a call in May (when he is more ready to talk)

• Make the most of life. It’s beautiful and precious.
  

Where can we honor Ruby with donations?

Ruby loves flowers and her garden is still in bloom, being carefully tended by her brother Sudeep. We would ask that in lieu of flowers or care packages, you make a donation to a worthy charity.

As a young woman growing up in Calcutta whose journey took her across continents, Ruby was committed to education and independence for women and girls and for supporting the dreams, livelihood, and safety of people who may not get the privileges we each get in life.

If you would like to make a donation in her honor, we suggest these three charities:

• Mercy Ships - delivering medical care to those in need via state-of-the-art hospital ships

• Malala Fund - working for a world where every girl can learn and lead

• UNICEF - working in the world’s toughest places to reach the most disadvantaged children and adolescents – and to protect the rights of every child, everywhere

Thank you for your love and support.