Asha Olivia Sekhri

It is with very heavy hearts that write this obituary for our daughter, sister and wife, Asha Olivia Sekhri. She passed on May 24th, 2022, after a nearly 4-year battle with cancer. There are so many things one seeks to write to express to people the profound love one has for the departed. There are many life events one would like to share; graduations, weddings, birthdays, friends, family, but despite all accounts it still never seems enough when trying to completely encapsulate everything the person was and what they meant to you. Asha and her brother Omar, only one year apart, grew up together and helped each other get through many difficult and happy times over their lifetime together. Omar wrote a personal account of how they showed up for each other. There couldn’t be a better way to describe Asha other than through his words below:

Asha, we love you. Omar says it best:

Asha Olivia Sekhri was born on July 31st, 1970. Although I say goodbye to her in unfathomable sorrow, today we happily celebrate her 51 years on this Earth as a warrior spirit with an unwavering dedication to inspiring not only her family, but also all of those who were fortunate to be an extension of her life.

Asha defended the vulnerable. She protected the wounded. She cared for the defenseless. She uplifted spirits to heights that even themselves couldn’t recognize.

My sister was my inspiration. The first time I truly understood the impact she had in my life was when I first moved to New York City in 1998. She not only took me in as her brother, but quickly made me realize that Manhattan wasn’t a place for the meek and the weak-minded individual.

The very first day in the city, she guided me with her fierce competitive nature and demonstrated to me what I needed to do to survive in the Big Apple. I applied for job after job as she sat with me in waiting rooms showing me how to fill out applications properly. She knew that New York was all consuming; that it would drown me in a tsunami if I didn’t react quickly and learn how to tread water in my new surroundings.

It was at that moment that I began to truly admire my sister. She made me strong. She pushed my limits. She stretched my boundaries. She always seemed to know everything. There wasn’t a question she couldn’t answer even if she didn’t know the right response. Her confidence was all encompassing.

At the height of the AIDS epidemic, she founded a non-profit organization to fund NGOs in India to take care of those inflicted by the deadly disease. She was smarter than her own bosses. She soon realized that she couldn’t be guided by anyone; that she had to be the commander of her own vessel. She was the liberated spirit.

She would walk through barren streets in Colombia and find dogs that were suffering from starvation; from broken spirits and she would take them in, protect them, take care of them, and ultimately shelter them in her own home back in The States. She was incredible and always made me feel like I wasn’t doing enough to be the best that I could be.

And this is perhaps why I am who I am today. She always told me that I was better than her, but it wasn’t true. Her admiration for me leaves me with a gaping hole of sadness because when a sister loves a brother the way she loved me there is no escaping the pain of losing her.

Her life was cut too short. She was just getting started. She had much more to give and many more souls to help radiate.

I take solace in the fact that she’s not suffering. She left us beautifully devastated. I will think about her every day and every move I make from here on out will be embraced by the purpose she has bestowed upon me.

Thank you Ashi for the 51 years I had with you as my rising phoenix. You are beyond this world now where you belong. Up in the heavens inspiring angels that glide along side you. I know that God himself is in good hands now.

I love you.

You little big brother,

Omar