Elsy John Chandy

She was born Elsy Augusty, alongside her twin sister, to Augusty and Thresia Parackel in Kerala, India, on November 15, 1954. She was brought up in a Roman Catholic family and attended church schools. After completing secondary school, she enrolled at Calicut University and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences. She was the first in her family to obtain a college degree, which made her parents and family very proud.

Drawing inspiration and direction from her elder sister, Anna “Lilly” Philip, Elsy decided to move to New Delhi to continue her education. She joined the Holy Family Institute of Medical Science and earned her second degree in Medical Technology. The practical knowledge, wisdom, experience, and training she received from that institution prepared her to face many future challenges. She followed verbatim the institution’s commitment to the values of hospitality, healing, stewardship, and respect. After some years, she came to the United States with the help of her sister Lilly and her brother-in-law, Philip M. Philip.

On January 8th, 1987, she married John K. Chandy, and the marriage was blessed by Cardinal Antony Padiyara. Together, they had two sons: Rishi and Rithi.

For the next thirty-five years, Elsy worked as a Medical Technologist in the United States, including the last fifteen years at Memorial Hospital West.

She will be remembered as hardworking, dedicated, and selfless. She led a simple, quiet life and was an avid gardener. She always believed in the Ayurvedic principle that food is medicine. She was a loving, caring, and inspiring mother and ceaselessly urged her sons to achieve their full potential. She liked to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.

Elsy is survived by her husband, John K. Chandy, and her two sons: Rishi John Chandy, his wife Jacqueline, and their son Samuel, and Rithi John Chandy and his wife Francesca.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.forestlawnsouth.com for the Chandy family.