Sandhya Rani Nanda

Sandhya Rani Nanda

Sandhya Rani Nanda passed away peacefully on March 17th, 2022 at Swedish Hospital Edmonds in Washington.  She endured a rare medical condition and departed after experiencing a large stroke.  Late in her life, she was diagnosed with Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy which causes hemorrhagic (bleeding) strokes in the elderly.  Sandhya had the strength, willpower, and determination to survive many strokes in her life and recover through lengthy rehabilitations.

She is survived by her husband, Haripada Nanda, and three accomplished children, Sunita Richardson, Dr. Kabita Nanda, and Sujit Nanda, and her son in law and two grandchildren Mychal, Annapurna, and Grant Richardson respectively.  In addition to being a dedicated and loving mother, Sandhya was an Anesthesiologist who cared for so many people in need during her professional years.  She remained devoted to her passion for medicine despite the hurdles of being one of the first immigrant woman doctors practicing Anesthesiology in the State of Indiana.  She believed in a strong community within her hospital network, making friendships with doctors and nurses, and was often requested by patients for her kind and caring manner.

In her free time she enjoyed traveling, walking, Zumba classes, music and movies, volunteering, cooking, gardening, quilting, and knitting.  In her college life, she participated in ping pong and badminton tournaments and was crowned ping pong champion at her university—something she was always proud to share.  She was known to be warm-hearted, social, friendly, and considerate of others, interested in world events and challenges faced by many communities.  She took pride in being able to manage the incredible demands of her career and provide for the needs of her children, family, and friends at the same time.  She always put others first, putting aside tiredness and her own day to day struggles.  She will always be known as a leader who gave everything and charted new paths for women in medicine who followed after her.

Sandhya was born on January 3rd, 1942 in Jamshedpur, India to the late Radha Mohan Mishra and Annapurna Mishra.  She was one of six children, three brothers and two sisters, Pradeep Mishra, Pradosh Mishra, Protush Mishra, Usha Das and the late Rajani Mishra.  She attended college and medical training at Sri Rama Chandra Bhanja Medical College (S.C.B.) and Indiana University School of Medicine.  She worked in Pediatrics at Itspat General Hospital, Rourkela, India and then spent most of her career performing Anesthesia at Community Hospital, Anderson, Indiana.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Barton Family Funeral Services.  Her last rites ceremony will be held on March 22th, 2022 in Kent, WA followed by cremation.  Please share a memory or message online at bartonfuneral.com.

Contributions in memory of Sandhya may be made to the following organizations: Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA) Research Center (https://www.angiopathy.org/support), American Stroke Association (https://www.stroke.org/), or the Family Caregiver Alliance (https://www.caregiver.org/).

May Sandhya’s warm memories live on in all our hearts and minds.