Tulsi Pant

Mrs. Tulsi Pant was born on her village birthday of May 4, 1939, in the Himalayan village of Someshwar, Almora, UP (now Uttarakhand) India, and departed peacefully from this world in Roseville, California on December 23, 2025.

She was the eldest daughter of Nitya Nand Upadhyaya and Parvati Upadhyaya and spent her early years growing up in the Himalaya Mountains of India.

She married her husband, Keshab Dutt Pant PhD, in Ranikhet, UP India in the summer of 1955 and moved to Lucknow, UP India where their daughter Sushma was born. After her husband completed his PhD in Microbiology at Jeùerson Medical College in Philadelphia, he returned briey to India before the family immigrated to the United States in January 1970. They settled in Lexington, Kentucky, where their son Mahesh was born. During their years in Lexington, Tulsi and her family formed a close-knit group of lifelong friends that remains strong to this day.

Tulsi worked in elementary school cafeteria services, a role she took pride in, and she greatly enjoyed spending weekends with friends and being the foundation of her family. In 1983, the family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she continued her work in school cafeteria services and built new friendships.

In 1990, Tulsi and her husband relocated to Northern California for several years before ultimately settling in Southern California in 1992, where their community of friends flourished.

In 2007, they moved to Rocklin, California, to be closer to family. That same year, her beloved husband passed away.

Over the years, Tulsi divided her time between her children and resided with them in Washington State and Granite Bay, California and also took extended visits to India to spend time with family and friends. Tulsi was an avid walker with a deep appreciation for the beauty of the outdoors, nature and animals. She often took our family dog Tyson along on daily walks. She had a green thumb, growing many plants and gardens, often tending fruits and vegetables that we were able to enjoy. She cherished time with her family, especially her grandchildren, and was a regular presence, including at family gatherings and celebrations and school events

for the grandchildren. She loved visiting friends and was known for her warmth, generosity, and love of togetherness. She especially enjoyed cooking and making amazing dishes and sharing meals with those she loved and stayed devoted to the Hindu faith.

She is survived by daughter, Dr. Sushma Pant, son Dr. Mahesh Pant, brother Harish Upadhyaya and his wife Anandi Upadhyaya and their family, daughter-in-law Heidi, and grandchildren Brian, Sanjay, Maya, and Neel.

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The Full Asato Ma Sadgamaya mantra, also known as the Hindu Pavamana Mantra, is a powerful prayer written in Sanskrit from the Hindu Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Vedic Scripture:

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।

तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।

मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya |

Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya |

Mrtyor-Maa Amrtam Gamaya |

Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Meaning:

1: Om, (O Lord) From (the Phenomenal World of) Unreality, make me go (i.e. Lead me) towards the Reality (of Eternal Self),

2: From the Darkness (of Ignorance), make me go (i.e. Lead me) towards the Light (of Spiritual Knowledge),

3: From (the World of) Mortality (of Material Attachment), make me go (i.e. Lead me) towards the World of Immortality (of Self-Realization),

4: Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.