Swaran Lal Saxena

Our father, Swaran Lal Saxena, passed away peacefully on May 27, 2023 at the age of 89, from congestive heart failure. Swaran was born in what was then Haripur Hazara in the Northwest Frontier Province of India. In 1947 his entire family was forced from their home in the middle of the night to escape religious persecution and found refuge with friends in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, eventually moving to Patiala, Punjab. Dad completed his B.A. at Punjab University where he met Shiv Seth, a sweet woman that would become his wife for just shy of 67 years.

In 1964 he left Punjab to come to the United States with the support of his older brother, Harbans Lal, who would be his greatest and most constant confidant throughout his life, up until the very end. Mom stayed behind with daughters Gunita and Ursula, only ages six and two, while Dad studied at Northern Illinois University, earning his M.A. in Marketing and Finance, Class of 1966. The family was reunited and settled in Chicago where his third daughter, Meena, was born.

Dad went on to work for the next 35 years in marketing and marketing-research management, working for Market Research Corporation of America (Chicago, IL), Burgoyne, Inc. (Cincinnati, OH), Eckrich/Beatrice Foods (Ft. Wayne, IN), Drackett Corp./Bristol-Myers (Cincinnati, OH), and Pet, INC, now a part of the Pillsbury Company, (St. Louis, MO). In November 1985 he launched his own company, incorporated as Marketing World, Inc. with two separate divisions, Pragmatic Research,

Inc. and Consumer Opinion Council Research Center. The company received the Service Company of the Year Award in 1992 from the Minority Enterprises Networking Association. He grew this company substantially in the next 10 years before selling it to enjoy retirement and traveling to destinations around the globe.

Dad was active in many professional organizations and served on advisory boards as well as volunteering in many social, cultural and charitable organizations. He had a passion for helping International exchange students that were away from their home land, studying in the U.S. He welcomed them into his home and made them a part of the family. Many of those students have stayed in touch through the years and became good friends. Dad will continue to help others past his time here as he generously donated his brain to the Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine.

Along with his hard work and many achievements, he was also very socially active with the Indo-American communities in each city he lived, making lifelong friends.

Swaran leaves behind his wife, Shiv, three daughters, Gunita Saxena (Phil Ellinwood), Ursula Saxena Hust (Bruce Hust), Meena Saxena (Hal Sparks), six grandchildren; Nick Ellinwood (Amy), Alex Ellinwood (Kelton), Maria Hust, Andrea Speers (Daniel), Raina Sparks, Jai Sparks, one great grandchild, Audrey Ellinwood, a brother, sister, brother and sister in law, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends around the globe.

The family would like to thank Dr. Anil Bhatia, Dr. Sami Elchalal, Dr. Saji Koshy, and Dr. Mohan Saoji for their care over the past nine years.

The family will be holding a private cremation ceremony. A celebration of life will occur at a later time with details to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center, https://knightadrc.wustl.edu/donate/ or to the American Heart Association.