Raj Malhotra

Raj Malhotra of Kalamazoo, MI died on July 21, 2015. Raj was born in Lahore, British India, and moved to Jaipur, and then Delhi after India's partition in 1947. She got her Bachelor's degree in English from Miranda College and taught Geography at the school level. She married Ram Chandra Malhotra, and moved to Nepal with him. He was the love of her life for their 46 years of marriage until his passing in 2001. With his career as an international diplomat with the Nepali government and then in the United Nations global network, they lived in New York and Washington, D.C., Thailand and Italy for many years. Her greatest joys came from exploring new cultures and countries with her family and friends, and cooking wonderful meals with fusion flavors from her travels. She was a seasoned traveler, picking up the language, and foods of the country she was in, and adapted easily to whatever challenges and adventures presented themselves. She was well known as a health and nutrition enthusiast, and was regularly sighted as the lone determined walker, undeterred by subzero Michigan weather. She embraced life to the fullest, enjoyed people, and was recognized for her elegance and sense of style. Liberal, progressive, and tolerant, she embodied a microcosm of the United Nations in her own family, representing five religions, and five nationalities. She is survived by four daughters and four sons-in-law: Nalini Quraeshi (Zahir) of Kalamazoo, Shailini Sisodia (Rajendra) of Boston, Mohini Malhotra (Tilman Ehrbeck) of Washington, D.C., Jyoti Lazzaro (Gianluca) of Chicago, and a son Vijay Malhotra of Boston, in addition to eight grandchildren (Samir, Asim, Alok, Priya, Maya, Sofia, Ravi, Kiran), and a brother Mahendra Kapoor of Delhi. She was a resident of Kalamazoo for the past fourteen years, during which time she "acquired" an extended family of many more sons and daughters in a loving community. She battled Parkinson's disease with incredible resilience, dignity and spirit. She made the peaceful transition at Rose Arbor Hospice surrounded by all her children and loved ones. A memorial and celebration of her life will be held at Langeland Family Funeral Home, 3926 S. 9th Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49009 from 4:00 6:30 pm on July 22nd, 2015. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her memory toThe Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (www.michaeljfox.org/Donate_Now.org), or for Nepal's earthquake relief (www.unicefusa.org/donate/nepal-earthquake).