Mohan Gopal Unnithan

Mohan Gopal Unnithan was born on December 28, 1951, in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), India. He grew up with seven siblings. He was the eldest son of his parents, N.G. Unnithan (retired Director Archeology Department, Government of Kerala) and Vijaya Unnithan. Mohan attended Model High School in Trivandrum and Mar Ivanios College prior to joining University of Kerala. Mohan graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kerala in Trivandrum in 1974. He worked as a junior engineer in Trivandrum and Mumbai before immigrating to the United States in 1980. Initially he stayed with his elder sister Jaya Nair and brother-in-law Dr. S.S. Nair and their two daughters, in Apex, North Carolina. He married Suchitra Nair on July 3, 1982, while working as Mall Engineer in Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, North Carolina. He worked here from 1980 to 1984. He joined Northern Telecom Limited in April of 1984 and worked for Bell Northern Research Limited, the research and development wing of Northern Telecom (a Canadian based telecommunications company which changed its name to Nortel Networks Corporation in April of 1999) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Ontario based Nortel Networks was once the world’s second largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment. While working full time at Northern Telecom, Mohan simultaneously pursued his dream of further studies and earned a second Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University on December 15, 1987. His brilliant intellect and innate ability for hard work enabled him to seek and attain a degree of Master of Engineering, in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from NCSU on May 15, 1999, with a near perfect GPA, while working full time.

Mohan was passionate, dedicated, and hard-working. His work was his priority and his pride and joy, second only to his family. For him, it was not about climbing the corporate ladder, as much as keeping the ladder steady and firmly adhered to faultless, error free functioning of company products. Mohan worked his way up, becoming a Senior Hardware Design Engineer and was always in demand as he could seemingly fix any technical malfunction. Troubleshooting any technical flaw, big or small, was his forte. His driving force was his total dedication to his work along with an honest work ethic and a passionate desire to create that flawless product. He was persistent and tackled debugging complex, elusive glitches with characteristic enthusiasm until the problem was resolved. He took on every project and every assignment with an unwavering sense of purpose and persevered until the resolution was verified. Legend has it that he frequently carried his team on his shoulders, nay, he carried the company on his shoulders. Many of the teams that he was a part of were cited for awards and sometimes granted remuneration. He was a perfectionist and was inordinately loyal to his team at work at every level while working in various capacities at Nortel, where he worked for 26 years from 1984 to 2010. Post a roller-coaster ride of multiple acquisitions followed by executive financial mismanagement, Nortel was broken up and sold as many smaller entities. After 26 years he worked for one of the smaller offshoots, Genband, based in Plano, Texas, for two years. After 28 years and the dissolution of his company, he went job hunting. He got employment at Allied Telesis, located at NCSU’s Centennial Campus in Raleigh, North Carolina, and worked here until he got ill in 2019 and took retirement in April of 2020.

He began to experience symptoms of ailment starting in October 2018 and was ultimately diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Maryland in March 2019. He underwent aggressive treatment at Johns Hopkins, UNC, and Duke hospitals. He battled the disease valiantly for 5 years. Although he lost the battle, he never let it shatter his spirits. He surpassed everyone’s expectations and withstood the herculean struggle with this debilitating disease bravely, displaying an indefatigable resilience and will to stay strong the entire time.

Mohan loved reading technical books. He took an avid interest in working on mathematical problems, especially calculus. He especially enjoyed teaching mathematics to his children when they were younger. He had an uncanny ability to break down very complex, intricate mathematical concepts into elementary components that could be comprehended by the layperson. He enjoyed helping other people fix almost anything, whether it be TV sets, radios (which existed before cell phones), various household appliances, air conditioning systems and just about all things electrical or mechanical. While they were in school, his children availed of his penchant to build and bring to life many creations. He had a unique ability to conceptualize an abstract idea and bring it to fruition, resulting in many quaint creations like an electrical guitar, a tall wooden easel and a remote-controlled miniature race car all made from scratch, among many others to the absolute delight of his children. Mohan’s hobbies included his deep love of music across genres, including English popular, Indian popular and classical music, especially the famed Malayalee singer Yesudas, who was his favorite. He loved watching comedy of all kind. He was a fitness fanatic, running 37 miles every week for many years. He also loved gardening and tending to his lawn. He loved the outdoors. For many years as a member of the Greater Carolina Kerala Association, he participated in many cultural programs. Mohan was a God-fearing man who prayed with his family regularly and liked to attend the Hindu Society of North Carolina’s Temple in Morrisville. He also attended the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Cary, NC.

Mohan is survived by his five sisters, his wife, Suchitra (Sue) Unnithan, their two children – son Ajay Shankar Unnithan, daughter Anita Gopal Unnithan, and son-in-law, Benjamin Dean Lewis.

Mohan had a big personality, an immense inner strength, unmatched energy, a quick-witted sense of humor, and a generous heart. We will miss him forever.