Radha Narumanchi

Professor Radha Ramana Murty Narumanchi passed away in Temple, Texas on December 4th, 2024 at the age of 88 from complications related to long Covid, which he originally contracted in 2022 while in Varanasi. Born in Tenali, East Godavari district (Andhra Pradesh, India) on March 11, 1936 he was the son of the late Narumanchi Srirama Murty and Durgamba (nee Poppuri) and grandson of the late Narumanchi Narayana Murty and Subbama. He was the middle son of seven children. Ramana is survived by his wife, Radha Bhavatarini Sarada Chandramani (nee Tanikella), eldest son (Tara Chandra Murty), five daughters (Hima Bindu, Varshna, Lata, Bharati and Padmini), daughters-in-law (Kumara Janani and Jyothi), son-in-law (Peter) and six grandchildren (Jude Tyagaraja, Lalita Grace, Malcolm Sridhar, Leela Subhalakshmi, Siddanth Nandana and Satyajit Ananta). His eldest daughter (Tara), middle son (Bharat babbu) and youngest son (Bharat Kumar) predeceased him. He leaves behind a large extended family of cousins, nieces and nephews as well as his elder brother and sister in India. Professor Narumanchi studied political science and constitutions of countries at Andhra University in Hyderabad, India, in 1963 and was briefly a Communist active in the Language Rights Movement. He held a license from the Institute of Costs and Works Management (ICWA) India and went on to work for J.D. Birla as his personal secretary. He immigrated to the United States in 1972 with only a few dollars in his pocket. When he arrived in New York City he shared accommodations with several other Indian immigrant men (sleeping on the floor on top of his coat) and walked the streets of Manhattan for 4 days looking for work before securing employment at an accounting firm. He then brought his wife and five children over from India. He worked during the day and studied at night, receiving his MBA in Public Accounting from CUNY Baruch in May of 1975 and was a PhD candidate from 1976-1977. He went on to become a New York State licensed CPA, was an active member of the NAACP during the 1970s-80s and a life member of the Telugu Association of North America (TANA). He was founding faculty of the School of Business at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) in New Haven, Connecticut where he was an Associate Professor from 1976 until his retirement in 2013. He taught financial accounting, auditing and business/tax law accounting and was an entrepreneur who owned and operated several businesses (Hima’s Health Food Store, Tara’s Shell, Bharat’s Shell, Padmini’s Exxon, Varshna Enterprises and Lata Enterprises). His hobby for thirty years was visiting the Yale Law library and studying on his own with the hopes of becoming a lawyer. Even until the age of 77 he was still registering to take the California Baby Bar exam. His commitment to education was evident in his own personal aspirations and was the foundational philosophy with which he raised his children. Ramana loved Indian classical music (especially Ghantasala’s Annamacharya Keerthanalu), held closely the philosophy of Sanatana Dharma and was an avid chess player. The family expresses our deepest thanks to the medical professionals of Baylor Scott & White Medical System for the exemplary care they provided to our father during the last two years of his life. He will be missed by his loved ones. We will meet you again in Kaasi, Ramana.

Cremation services will be held on December 5th, 2024 by Scanio-Harper Funeral Home of Temple.