Sunny Zachariah was born on May 15th, 1947 in Thiruvalla, Kerala, India. He was the third son of four children born to the late E.G. Zachariah and Mariamma Zachariah. At the age of 74, Sunny passed away in Irving, TX on Friday, June 11, 2021.
Sunny graduated from Catholicate High School at Pathanamthitta and then received his Bachelor’s degree at Catholicate College. He then went on and completed his Master’s in Zoology from S.N. College in Quilon, India. He married Leelamma Cherian in 1973 and they shared 48 wonderful years together.
In 1973, Sunny and Leela immigrated to Dallas, Texas where he began his career at the Dallas Morning News in advertising and then worked at TransAmerica. In 1979 he moved to Tyler, Texas and worked as an Associate Professor in Biology at Texas College. In 1986, he then received his second Master’s degree in Microbiology from East Texas State University in Commerce, Texas. After 12 years as an educator, he then went into research at University of Texas at Tyler. In 1999, they moved to Plano, Texas where Sunny continued to work in research at UT Southwestern Dallas until 2012 when he retired.
A large part of Sunny’s life was committed to the Orthodox church. He proudly was a founding member of St. Mary’s Valiyapally in 1973 and then continued to be an active member and pillar of the church where he served on countless committees and leadership endeavors throughout his many years of dedicated service.
Sunny is survived by his devoted wife of 48 years, Leelamma Zachariah; son Shaun Zachariah, daughter-in-law Babitha Zachariah, along with his two grandchildren Neyda and Zayne who were his pride and joy during his later years of life. Sunny is also survived by his three siblings, Santhamma Jacob, Babu Zachariah, Leelamma Zachariah, and dear friends and family who will cherish Sunny in their everlasting memory.
A Wake will be held on Monday evening from 5:30-9pm and Funeral Services on Tuesday at 9:30am at St. Mary's Malankara Orthodox Church in Farmers Branch. Burial will follow in Rolling Oaks Memorial Center.
