Chandrashekhar Shashikant Damle

Shekhar Damle, beloved husband, devoted father, affectionate son, and caring brother, passed away unexpectedly on June 23, 2023, at home surrounded by his family. Shekhar was born in Bangalore, India, to Shashikant and Urmila Damle on March 5, 1967. Shekhar grew up in Mumbai in the TIFR colony and attended St. Joseph’s High School. He was the head boy of his school, excelled in academics and was an avid sports buff. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, in 1988. After spending a year at Tata Steel, he came to the United States to do his Ph.D. in Material Science at The Ohio State University, which he completed in 1994. He was an innovative engineer who started his professional career in the US at LTV Steel in Cleveland, during which time he was also awarded a US and Canadian patent on “Submerged Entry Nozzle”. He subsequently transitioned to a long and impactful career in finance and consulting over two decades, first at McKinsey and then at Capital One. During this time, he brought his passion for technology to lead several digital transformation initiatives in the financial services sector as Senior Director and VP of Tech Strategy. This passion also translated to his interest in encouraging coding and technology development among children and underserved communities in Richmond, Virginia.

Soon after his Ph.D., Shekhar married Shilpa in 1996 and they moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to start their lives in the US. Here, their first son, Jaideep, was born in 2000. In 2003 the family moved to Richmond, where their second son, Anuj, was born in 2006. During this time, the family made great friends across the two cities and were deeply involved with the local communities. Shekhar loved to cook, read, travel, and discuss current events, technology, and sports. Shilpa’s cooking, Anuj’s knowledge of history and sports, and Jaideep’s knowledge of science and movies set a very high bar for Shekhar. These would often lead to long discussions over extended meals and morning coffee and tea. His reading interests were incredibly varied and included books, journals, and blogs on topics as diverse as technology, physics and politics. Growing up he also actively participated in and followed all sports and was especially passionate about cricket, even recalling facts and stats about Indian cricketers that very few others might have even heard of. He was deeply interested in preserving Indian traditions and cultural values. He actively participated in Chinmaya Mission Richmond's Gita Discussion group and ensured that his sons learned cultural values through Bala Vihar classes.

Shekhar had many moments in life that made him incredibly proud. Most recently, he was the proudest father at Jaideep’s graduation from Purdue University and was immensely delighted at Jaideep’s admission to the University of Michigan to pursue graduate studies starting this August. He was overjoyed at Anuj’s many Quizbowl tournament wins and took great pride in Anuj’s outstanding delegate win at Model UN. Anuj and Jaideep’s abilities to leave the rest of the world stranded in running or gaming were his secret pleasures. He rarely spoke about them but everyone knew.

Shekhar is survived by a large number of friends and well-wishers but most of all by his loving family: Shilpa, his wife of 27 years, sons Jaideep and Anuj, mother Urmila, sister Deepali and brothers-in-law Abhijeet and Balaji. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that contributions be made to CodeVA (https://www.codevirginia.org/donate/).

The family will receive friends Tuesday June 27, 2023 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Woody Funeral Home-Parham, 1771 North Parham Road, Richmond, VA 23229. Following the visitation there will be a Funeral service for Chandrashekhar from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM .

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.woodyfuneralhomeparham.com for the Damle family.