Vijaya Challa

Vijaya Challa was born on May 5, 1953 in Andra Pradesh, India. She is the daughter of Rama Krishna Reddy and Sarojini Devi, and a sister to Rama Reddy, Venu Gopal Reddy, and Srinivas Reddy.  She graduated high school early and went to SV University in Tirupathi.

She was married in September 5, 1977 in Annavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was the first love marriage in both families. A grand experiment in free choice and free will succeeding for a little over 45 years.  Along with her husband and two children she emigrated to the United States in 1987, where she completed a masters at Pace University in New York specializing in finance, budget, and transportation engineering.

She had a few specific jobs in her career - consulting for the National Productivity Council as a Deputy Director, part-time bank teller (full-time mom) while she was completing her Masters in New York and finally a long career with the MTA retiring as the Director of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity. Despite being the first in the family to get a driver’s license, her love and unlimited access to mass transit outweighed the need to ever drive.

Work was only one facet of her life. She was deeply spiritual and was very committed to the Sathya Sai Group in New Hyde Park. Service, kindness and spirituality were her compass in life. Generous to a fault, she always gave freely within her means – whether it was her time, her knowledge, or her love.

Along with her infectious smile and her joie de vivre (even more effervescent after her morning coffee) she was a part-time card shark, solver of NY times crossword puzzles, Sudoku aficionado, and in general a whiz at solving most of our daily gripes. She deeply believed in the attributes of a matriarchal society and ran our family as such. She was equally tough and loving, believing deeply in good intentions, hard work, and honesty (except for the times she cheated at board games - namely Monopoly!). A lifelong vegetarian, she attempted converting all of us, which proved to be futile. She prepared many a chicken dish without ever touching or tasting. She couldn’t change us but she would at least make sure we were discerning with our choices. Her love for us was deep and unconditional. And for that we are forever grateful.

She is survived by her loving husband Eswara, daughters, Shilpa and Chaitanya, her grandies Lia (6) Leela (5), Niam (2), and Devin (20 months) as well as her son in laws Sourav and Paul (her personal Will Shortz).

To view a recording of the Live Stream of the service, please click HERE