Vijaya Parulekar (nee Desai) passed away on October 26, 2024 after a long and fulfilling life. She was born in Vengurle, Maharashtra, the eldest daughter of five children, to Laxman and Indira Desai. She married Manohar Parulekar in 1959 and left her beloved India to join Manohar in Laramie, Wyoming before eventually settling in Ottawa.
Vijaya spent many years teaching learning disabled children. Ignoring the stigma and prejudices of the time, she was able to transform the lives of countless students who adored her in return.
After her retirement, she took up full-time volunteer work as Vice-President of Operations at the Hindu Temple of Ottawa-Carleton while immersing herself in family get-togethers and pursuing her passions of writing and gardening.
She leaves behind four children, Patricia (the late Joseph Thomsen), Rita (Christopher Duddek),
Wendy (Nicholaos Papadakis), and Pierre (the late Barbara Courssaris) as well as her grandchildren
Chantel, Jessica, Jordan, Sophia, Matthew and Elisha.