Obituary of MG Sharma
Dr. Mangalore Gokulanand "MG" Sharma, peacefully passed away on Saturday, May 18th, 2024 at the age of 96 in State College PA after a long life well-lived.
MG was born on November 3rd, 1927, in Sringeri, India. He was the second of five children and had three brothers and one sister. He earned his B.Sc. degree in Chemistry, Physics and Math in 1948 from St. Joseph's College in Trichy India, a B.E. degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Electrical and Civil Engineering in 1952 from B.M.S Engineering College in Bangalore, India, and a D.I.I.Sc. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science in 1954. He worked at Hindustan Aeronautics designing airplane components until 1957 when he came to the US for the first time to pursue his PhD. MG graduated in 1960 with his PhD in Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State University. He became an Assistant Professor in the same department shortly afterwards and taught courses in the areas of mechanics and viscoelastic materials; he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1964 and Professor in 1975. His scholarly efforts produced over 100 publications in the areas of nonlinear mechanics, rheology of asphalt pavement and blood vessels, biomechanics, viscoelasticity and high temperature creep properties of materials. He also helped advance the state-of-the-art for the artificial heart with his scholarly work on blood flow and plaque buildup in arteries. He presented his research at various international conferences in England, France, Sweden, Japan, India, Italy, Venezuela and Canada. He was a leader in his field and was admired and respected by his students and colleagues.
In 1962 he married Pratibha Sharma (Vasanti Kochikar Pai) in India on March 21. They had a wonderful life together embracing American culture, traveling, raising their two daughters and entertaining friends and colleagues at dinner parties. In his younger years, MG enjoyed camping, gardening and had the ability to design, fix or build anything. He was the true definition of "engineer", extremely capable and self-taught in many things from fixing a car engine to making furniture to managing investments. MG was a dedicated and empathetic husband who retired in 1994 to take care of his wife when she was suffering from breast cancer; she preceded him in death on June 5th, 1997, and he missed her every day of his life after that; he would have tears in his eyes any time her name was mentioned. After her passing, he came to be known as, "Ajja" (grandfather) and his grandchildren were the light of his life and kept him active. He enjoyed sleepovers and watching "Walker Texas Ranger '' with them; he proudly took them to Indian cultural school and "story hour" on Sundays. He picked them up after school and helped them with their homework. They spent every New Year's Eve together from 1999-2022 having a party, playing games and drinking sparkling juice. He looked forward to watching them play sports and went to every karate test over the years until they both achieved blackbelt. His relationship with his grandsons was like no other. Two of his proudest moments were seeing them both graduate from college and knowing they moved on to graduate school. MG was a die-hard Penn State fan and every fall watched Penn State football games with his family, screaming at the opposing team. As MG grew older, he appreciated visits from friends, former students and colleagues to his home and always enjoyed playing host, serving coffee and snacks. He became an expert at cooking his wife's recipes and called them "formulas". One of MG's favorite shows was "Planet Earth", and he often watched the program until 1am when there was a marathon airing on TV and then called his daughters the next day to discuss. He was an animal lover and liked to watch birds from his picture window at his home. Another favorite activity of his was feeding the family dogs salmon skin; he was a Facebook celebrity every Saturday night when videos of him with the dogs were posted. He loved listening to music, Dave Brubeck's album Take Five was one of his favorites. In his later years, MG's smile was what he was best known for; he made friends with everyone he met and was known as a sweet, kind gentle soul.
In addition to his eternal love and dedication to his wife, MG's daughters meant the world to him, and he would do anything for them; ensuring their happiness and success in life was his goal. He adored his sons-in-law who were equally devoted to supporting him throughout his life. MG was one of a kind, the best father, husband, grandfather, friend and colleague and he will be so deeply missed by all.
Survivors include his two children: Shoda Koehler (Warren) of Perkasie, PA and Mala Sharma Judd (Todd) of State College, PA; grandchildren Kiran Judd of Shrewsbury, MA and Janak Judd of State College, PA; brothers Vasudev Sharma (Arudathi) of Bangalore India and R.T. Bhatt (Mathura) of Cleveland OH; also, many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to the nurses, staff and caregivers at Foxdale Village and Grane Hospice for the compassionate care they provided MG. They afforded him with the utmost respect, dignity, love and kindness in his last days and moments; the family is forever grateful.
A celebration of life is planned for a later date, yet to be determined. In lieu of flowers, please plant a native tree, bush or flowers in his honor.
Memorial contributions can be sent to the "employee givers of care fund" at Foxdale Village
https://www.foxdalevillage.org/giving/
Or the animal rescue One Dog at a Time (ODAAT)
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