Raman Pichumani of Plano, Texas passed away February 10, 2019 at the age of 90.  He was born on February 10, 1929 in Tamil Nadu, India.

He passed his SSLC Exam (High School) in 1946, attaining first rank in the entire Salem District. He also won first prize in “Manavar Manram” Tamil competition in the entire State of Madras. He studied Intermediate in Loyola College and earned first place in a mathematics competition. He studied at Guindy Engineering College and achieved honors marks in three years and First Class in final B.E.  He then passed the All-India Combined Engineering Services Exam and was appointed to Central Engineering Services.

Raman married Balamani in 1956 in India. Together they raised three children and doted on two granddaughters during their 63 years of marriage.

In 1956 he was awarded a prestigious Government of India scholarship to pursue higher studies in the USA. He received his M.S. degree at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh PA and then rejoined Central Services in New Delhi and served as an Executive Engineer in Central Public Works Department for five years. He later returned to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at his alma mater Carnegie Tech. While working toward his doctorate, his wife and children joined him in the U.S. Upon being awarded his Ph.D., he and his family settled in the US and started new lives.

He worked for several consulting engineering firms, but also taught Civil Engineering at West Virginia Tech as an Associate Professor. For several years he worked on a joint research project at the University of New Mexico and Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.  The majority of his career was at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission working as a licensed professional engineer, living in Maryland with his family for nearly forty years.  He was highly respected by his colleagues, classmates, and friends, who remember him as a hardworking and honest man with a strong work ethic.

Raman was also past president and a charter member of the Tamil Nadu Foundation, a nonprofit organization created in 1974 by a group of Indian Americans to help people from their native province of Tamil Nadu in India. His involvement was driven by his strong desire to help underprivileged communities.

Since retiring in 2010, he has been a resident of Plano, Texas, where he and his wife devoted their time with his grandchildren and their family. He enjoyed many hours reading at his local library to which he would walk on a nearly daily basis.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Balamani Pichumani of Plano, Texas; daughters, Mallika Pichumani of Plano, Texas and Jaya Jackson of Plano, Texas; son, Ramani Pichumani and wife, Geeta Kalia of Palo Alto, California; two granddaughters; and a brother, Dr. R. Balasubramanian of India. Raman was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers and a sister.

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, February 17, 2019 at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home Chapel, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas 75013. The family will receive friends during a visitation Sunday one hour prior to service at the funeral home.

The family asks that memorial donations be made to charitable organizations working for the betterment of humanity. Some organizations that Raman and his family have supported include Down Syndrome charities and UNICEF USA https://secure.unicefusa.org/donate/unicef-tribute-cards.