Rajalakshmi Sarangapani

Rajalakshmi Sarangapani of Silver Spring, MD, passed away on Saturday, September 10, 2011 at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., at the age of 78. Raja was born on August 18, 1933 in Chennai, India to the late Caruna Duraiswami Aiyengar and Kamala Rangachari.

She was very much beloved by her family, neighbors, and friends, all of whom she cherished. Raja was a devout Hindu and was widely respected for her life-long and selfless service as a social worker dedicated to especially needy people. She was admired as a hard-working supporter of the Democratic Party and for helping elect capable candidates who held to high standards of equal justice for all and causes that she viewed as important. The Governor of Maryland recognized her distinguished service to the State with a meritorious award.
Raja received her B.T. (B. Ed) from Stella Matatuna College in Madras (now Chennai) India, then graduated from the University of Delhi School of Social Work and received her Masters in Sociology from Catholic University in Washington, DC.
She worked in India as Labor Welfare Officer at Rodier Mills in Pondicherry, India, and after coming to the United States, worked at the Bureau of Social Science. She volunteered at B'nai B'rith in Washington, DC and was taken hostage for several days, but was released without harm. She later served at length as a Parole and Probation Officer for the State of Maryland.

Raja is survived by her brother, Srini Vasan and his wife, Mildred Vasan of Cupertino, CA; sister, Vimala Sarma and her husband, Srinivasan Sarma of Mechanicsburg, PA; sister Dr. Prema Caruna and her husband, John Parsons of Prescott AZ, brother-in-law, Gopalswami Ranganathan of Philadelphia, PA and a number of nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Raja was preceded in death by her sister, the late Vijayalakshmi Ranganathan and brother, the late Caruna Duraiswami Krishnan.

A Funeral Service will be held at Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory, P.A. 1411 Annapolis Road, Odenton, MD 21113 on Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. In keeping with Hindu tradition a Cremation Ritual will follow at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, 6905 Cipriano Road, Lanham, Maryland 20706 or www.ssvt.org .

Online condolences may be made at www.donaldsonfuneralhome.com