Obituary of Satish Kumar Srivastava

Adventurous, generous, kind, passionate and driven. Satish Kumar Srivastava lived those values for 81 years before succumbing to a long battle against heart failure. Born across the world in Rae Bareli, India on July 21, 1937, he knew at a young age he wanted to come to America and make an impact on the world. Satish received his PhD in Biochemistry from Lucknow University in India in 1962 and in the same year married his devoted and loving wife, Rani. His dream came true when they moved with their three children to the United States in 1966, to work at the City of Hope in Los Angeles, before being lured to the shores of Galveston where he served as Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) until the very end. A world-renowned scientist, Satish was a deep thinker and truly a pioneer in his field. He made numerous novel discoveries in genetics, diabetes, asthma and cancer, passionately pursuing science to alleviate human suffering, and he trained scores of scientists including over 20 professors carrying on his legacy throughout the world.

Despite his enormous professional impact, his greatest legacy is the countless lives he gently touched, shaped, mentored and profoundly influenced. Satish had unlimited capacity to be concerned about and act to help others in the most selfless manner. Leading by example, he created a broad community who lived by his values, each day spreading his philosophy of life in their own way. Satish most enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, exposing them to his passions, including camping, tennis, cooking, and his love of card games. His greatest treasures were his children and grandchildren, through whom he shall live on. In his last months, he was grateful for the many family members, friends, doctors and nurses who lovingly and gladly cared for him in his time of need. His twinkling eyes, zest of life and infectious smile will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Bishamber and Kamlavati Srivastava, as well as two brothers and one sister.  Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 56 years, Prem Lata “Rani” Srivastava; daughters, Sangeeta Awasthi and husband, Sanjay; Ameeta Achari and husband, Arup; son, Deepak Srivastava and wife, Denise; brother, Shiram Srivastava and wife, Annapoorna; sister, Sushma Srivastava; grandchildren, Meena (Austin), Radhika (Gaurav), Arjun (Manpreet), Vasudev, Lakshmi, Ishani, Dillon, Claire, Devesh, Sydney, Raaghav; and many nieces and nephews and a host of other family and dear friends whom he deeply loved.

Services for Satish will be held at 2:30 pm on Saturday, February 16, 2019 at Clayton Funeral Home, 5530 W. Broadway, Pearland, Texas 77581. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in honor of the Satish Srivastava Endowed Presidential Scholarship fund at UTMB (https://innovationsinmind.utmb.edu/give).