I am so sad and shocked to hear of Santha's death. I have very fond memories of working with him at Fermilab in the early 1990s.  Condolences to his family.

I am deeply saddened. He was the best boss I ever had, and one of the finest people I have ever known. I am so sorry for his family, because he lived for them. May God keep his soul.

I am shell shocked to learn about the untimely demise of Santha. I worked with him at Fannie Mae on the Windows XP to Windows 8.1 upgrade. As part of that my daily regimen was to have the daily stand-ups every morning with Windows Packaging and Support team in his office. I have known him professionally and personally as I worked with him close to two years. A great mentor with very good technical acumen and analytical abilities to understand the possible root causes quickly and put solutions together very quickly to address the issues. Equally on a personal level, very good at heart and very straight forward in telling what he has on his mind about the approach to get work done but also how he can motivate his team, peers that he cares about. He talked about his children at times with me and was very proud of his daughter who at the time was in William and Mary and son in TJ. My deepest condolences to the bereaved family. May God give them the courage to overcome this difficult times. You'll be remembered and always cherished in memories.

We all still cannot believe that you are gone. It is not fair! 
But even now, the most amazing thing about you is that you manage to bring us back together again.  
Yes, you became a legend at Fannie Mae and you left behind a lot of good things.  But for many reasons I do not want to talk about the work and the fantastic time we spent together at Fannie. Your best accomplishments are your kids. I saw them yesterday and now I understand again why you were so proud of them. 

What happened with you is a lesson for all of us and in your memory we decided that from now on, we will all meet at least once every three months.  So, you see, this way you will still be with us!

Rest In Peace my friend !

My deepest sympathy to Santha's beloved family Kumudini, Saritha and Isuru. With tears and with laughter, we dip into the deep well of love and memory. May all of these memories written here and as well as those that remain unspoken, nourish you and keep Santha with you, always.
I had the unique privilege of being Santha's office neighbor. This close proximity gave us so many opportunities to have impromptu discussions about family, life and work. I will cherish those conversations always and I will miss Santha bounding into my office overflowing with energy, smiling and sharing the latest thing on his mind. He was a kind and very generous man. It is fitting that Santha passed from this life whilst on his way to help others. We are all better for having known Santha.
There is a silence now, a quiet sadness, a longing for one more day, one more word, one more glimpse of your smile, we may not understand why you left this earth so soon, or why you left before we were ready to say good-bye, but little by little, we shall begin to remember not just that you died, but that you lived. And that your life gave us memories too beautiful to forget. I will honor your life by striving to make a difference, share a smile, laugh, love and live.

Until our souls meet again...

My deepest sympathies to Sumith's family. I remember talking to Sumith briefly at religious meetings held at Gunasekara resident. He came across to me as a real gentleman, positive and friendly. I am sorry that I could not attend the funeral. It is sad Sumith left us so soon. As Buddhists, we know well that everything is impermanent (anithyay). I am certain Sumith will be remembered by his family, friends, and colleagues dearly. May he attain the highest bliss of Nirvana! Let's send merits in his way.
Milan (and Chris)

In our house we knew “Mr. Santha” as “Isuru’s Dad”.
I have known Santha since the kids were in elementary school.
He was a dear friend, always smiling; I just can’t believe that he is gone and not here any more. We have had many conversations and dinners together as family friends. I could always connect with him and he was very easy to talk to. I knew I could always count on him. For four years, we car pooled with him to drop the boys to school. He would spoil the kids with Starbucks in the morning on their way to school; if I complain, he would say to me “Gauri, there are many fights; this one is not worth fighting for”, which was so true. He was one of the nicest man I have known. I knew I could always count on him. I still remember the math counts team that he lead at Kilmer MS: he was dedicated to the cause. Santha was very proud of his kids; especially of Isuru. 
He will be missed. He left too early;
I pray for strength for his family to get through this tough time. 


I have known Santha for more than two decades. When we were both contractors, and both working in the 3900 Wisconsin Ave. building, sometimes we walked together for about fifteen minutes to our cars, and I always enjoyed the conversations with him.  He was determined and decisive at his work, yet at the same time, he was always very friendly and extraordinarily helpful.  No matter how busy he was, he would open time to talk me. When I joined Fannie Mae again last year, after close to five years being away, Santha gave me the warmest welcome back, and as always with his genuine smile and enthusiasm.  He then made time out of his extremely busy schedule to have lunch with me, and we went over old memories.  When I sent him a note to thank him for spending time to have lunch with me, he replied: “Same here Ramin! I still remember the day you sent me the link to my PhD thesis! Old memories never go away. –Santha.”   And he was correct.  I will remember his exceptional kindness and comradeship for the remainder of my life. 
(Behrooz Hadavi, who is traveling overseas, asked me to pass his message of condolences to Santha’s  friends and family.)
Rest in peace Santha.
My heartfelt condolences to Santha’s family. 


I still cannot believe he's  gone, he left us way to soon! I've known and worked with Santha on and off for more than 20 years at Fannie Mae.  I remember the day he first walked into my down town office for a Unix Admin.  contractor job interview. He was bright eyed, full of enthusiasm, and probably one of the smartest, most knowledgeable candidates I ever interviewed, of course, I hired him immediately. Santha and I developed a quick and very successful working rapport, based in part, upon my motto at the time.  I would say to him, do what you have to do to keep the systems up and running, "Just keep me out of jail and make me look good ;-)", which he adopted with his usual vigor and gusto!  Santha consistently achieved these objectives; I never went to jail, and he made the team look good always. As many have said, no matter the task, large or small, Santha became the thought leader and go-to resource on whatever project or team he worked on. His passion for excellence and problem solving skills were among his many strengths. Santha was a talented technologist with a great mind, and a famous sense of humor.  As our careers drifted apart and Santha's star inevitably began to rise, I always considered him as a friend, trusted colleague, and confidant whom I could call upon at any time for any reason.  Santha  ALWAYS made time to take my call, and we had great technical and sometimes just casual conversations. When he learned I was retiring, he went out of his way to take me out to lunch and we had a great farewell conversation. That was the last time we spoke, and I will cherish that memory of him for all my days.  That's the Santha I knew, that's just the way he was! 
	Santha, goodbye old friend, rest in peace, and may god bless and protect you and your family, to whom I send my most sincere heartfelt condolences.

- Kurt


They say the good die young, and that is indeed true of Sumith.  During all the years we knew him, we saw the many ways in which Sumith showed how decent and good a human being he was, unassuming despite his intellectual and professional achievements, kind and generous to all who crossed his path. How many hours we would have spent discussing issues, concepts and how things should happen for the good of all. What made it special was it was all encompassed in undiluted camaraderie and humor. Sumith left the world a little better than he found it. That speaks for the selflessness of a man who knew what it meant to be a man worthwhile. 
May he attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana.

Anada and Rajika.


I have known Santha for many years through work. He always had a Can Do attitude and made things otherwise seemed big into achievable goals. Whenever I needed his help, he was always there to help. His infrastructure knowledge and relationships he built at Fannie Mae would be greatly missed.  Deep condolences to his family and friends. 

My condolences go out to Santha's family.  

I really enjoyed the time I spent with Santha the past few years and although it was primarily thru work we always ended with a firm shake or a big hug. His commitment to excellence was always front and center and he would never walk away from any challenge.  He made us all a  better team and I will continue to cherish our many times working together.

May you rest in peace my friend. God Bless you Santha

Very saddened to hear the sad news about Santha, still can't believe it. Known Santha for many years now, had chance to work very closely with him for last 1yr. Santha was very friendly and a wonderful person who was always ready to lend his helping hands. Even during tough situations, still remember,  Santha would start with a smile and say don't worry, let us solve together, we are one big team. Santha always used to respond with calm voice even during the fire-drill situations. My thoughts and prayers go to family and friends. Santha, we are going to miss you. Pray for the departed soul.
- Sanjeev

My condolences to the Santha Family. I had the pleasure of working with Santha over the past five years on various projects at Fannie Mae. Santha was always friendly and outgoing and would always stop by when in groups to talk. He appreciated the support we provided  him and his organization and we appreciated him keeping us involved in helping to make sure that we had the best terms and conditions with our suppliers and that things got ordered correctly and on a timely manor. Santa was one of the reasons that Fannie Mae is such  a special place to work and he will be greatly missed. Prayers to the family during this time.

To Sumith Uncle,

You watched us grow up from before we were in kindergarten, to us in college. We still remember the days that we would sleep over the house with Isuru and Saritha when we were little, all the trips we went on together, and all the years of memories we have beyond that. You, Kumudini Aunty, Saritha, and Isuru are family to us. You were one of the most kind-hearted, funny, and enjoyable people to be around. We are very grateful to have had you in our lives, and you will be deeply missed by us. 

May you attain Nibbana, Sumith Uncle. We love you.

Sanuri and Devin Hennayake

Have known Sumith for the last 5+ years. Though our interactions have been in spurts, always connected on our heritage, cultures, food and finally business. His excitement to share his deep knowledge on systems and technology often had him struggle with his words to keep up with his brain; Well he always draped that up well with his smile and his attitude. You could never keep the man away from his drawing board and the markers..
Rest In Peace, my friend!!. 


I am so sorry to hear about Santha's loss.  My sincere condolences to his family. Even though I never had the chance to work with him, its very sad to hear about losing your colleague. May his soul rest in peace..

Shiva

I couldn’t believe it, when I first heard the news of Santha’s demise. I was in state of shock and wanted to make sure it was indeed true. My association with Santha spreads over last 13 years in Fannie Mae. Over the period of time even though our functional roles changed, I was blessed with constant interaction on various official tasks and also on the personal level with Santha. I vividly remember and recall majority of the conversations, I had with Santha over the years. I always made it a point to go to his office whenever I happen to be in his floor. His warm affection and genuine care and breadth of knowledge on various topics fostered and fanned my continuous interactions with him. One trait which stands tall in front of me is his straight forward approach in calling out things the way they are. I learned a lot, even though often times it looked bitter. Ultimately, it made me to think, ponder and self-introspect a lot to understand his perspective. Of late, I had made a routine to see him early in the morning (for we happen be in the same floor for the last one year) exchange brief pleasantries and have some discussion. i don’t know how I am going to overcome this in the coming days. It is irreplaceable loss to his family and personally to me and many of us in Fannie Mae. I pray to Almighty to give his family enough strength to overcome the void created by him. I also pray to Almighty for his soul to rest in peace.

My deepest sympathies to the family for their untimely loss. I remember meeting Sumith at Gunasekara residence during religious gatherings. He sounded a friendly and a jovial guy but I never thought he would depart from us so soon. Life is so impermanent! That is the ultimate truth. May Sumith attain Nirvana!  Sadly, Milan (and Chris)

My sincere condolences to family and may God give you the strength and courage during this difficult time. I was shocked to hear the news.  I knew Santha as my customer for good 10 years, a kind but an aggressive one with one mission to get his order.  He will be definitely missed by all of procurement in Fanniemae.

Anu Kalburgi



I worked with Santha for several years at Fannie Mae.  I always appreciated his honesty and ability to get things done.  He was always there if you needed anything and was always willing to lend a hand. We spent many long nights together on the phone trying to resolve production issues and trying to understand what had happened. His smile and his laugh were contagious and I enjoyed having him as part of my team. He will be missed by many and remembered fondly by his team mates.  

Santha was a lotus in a pond. one of the few individuals I met in life whose smile , enthusiasm and inspiring attitude  at work were ever  rare to find .Also going to miss  him at chess tournaments  .May eternal happiness be his companion .Namastey.

How sad and shocking to hear that Santha passed away… I met Santha as we were both graduate students and doing our PhD research at Fermilab. I have so many good memories with Santha. He was always helpful and pleasant to be around. I was always so impressed by how good he was with computing. In fact, he was so helpful that we once fought about who should carry a heavy power supply. Santha could not imagine that I wanted to carry it alone so he tried to wrestle it out of my hands. As I pulled back at it, one sub-element went flying down the stairs. We returned it to the electronic pool for repair pretending we had no clue what had happened. The technician said he had never seen an electronic module so beat up! We never fought again and enjoyed many good moments together. Like going out to a Chinese restaurant with other friends from the lab. Santha would gather all the killer chili peppers that we all had left behind and heat them all without choking or turning bright red. He was lively and always good company. I am really sad to hear that he has passed away.

Santha had a "can do" attitude and willingness to help everyone at any time.  His laugh always made me  laugh! I will miss his positive energy.

My condolences to his family and friends.

Rest in Peace, Santha.  You will truly be missed.

I met Santha back in ‘99. I worked for him in ‘01 and worked alongside him over the years. Santha was a pragmatic, passionate technologist with strong work ethic and a drive to solve problems. He was a colleague and a friend.

We are saddened by his loss. Our sincere heartfelt condolences go out to his family.


Santha  was one of a kind.  A sweet, thoughtful, wonderful human. I never saw him without a smile. Not to mention, he was brilliant at what he did. He made  Fannie Mae a better place to work. 
Condolences to his family and many friends. 

Deepest sympathies ! So sorry to hear Sumith's passing. May he attain nibbana! 

When you walk that path from SunOS 4.1.4 to Solaris 10 with someone, you get to know their soul.  Santha had a good soul.  The next path to be walked leads into the life eternal.  See you on the other side my fellow walker.

So very sad to learn of Santha's passing. He always kept me on my toes at Fannie Mae; I knew when he was involved things were going to get done because of his can-do attitude. He did not shy away from conflict and I admired this. In social settings he always made you smile. My thoughts are with his family. Rest in peace, Santha.

I have worked with Santha for many years .He always exerted a positive energy and was always a pleasure to work with . Santha will be missed very much.

Its so sad. I know Santha for several years; he is very good in executing tasks, down to earth attitude, always responds with smile.  Fannie Mae as an organization will miss such a great personality. Rest in peace, Santha.

My thoughts & prayers with his family.

I worked with Santha for many years, above all else, always found him to be kind caring person.  May you Rest in Peace  

It is with much sadness that I reflect on my time with Santha at Fannie Mae.   He was one of those people who made the workplace a better place - always pleasant, always ready and willing to tackle the next “opportunity”.   We all trusted that if Santha was involved, it would get solved.  Although I haven’t seen Santha in years, I’m reminded of his laugh, his work ethic, his commitment, his love of life. Rest In Peace, my friend. You will be missed. 

Santha was my first hiring manager at Fannie over 17 years ago. His wisdom, technical breadth, work ethic and amazing will to solve for the right outcome have inspired so many of us. His family was his anchor and this loss is inexplicable.  He was always someone you could  consult with and his willingness to help  was unwavering. I recall so many of our conversations and collaborations. He is indeed one of the most special people who served Fannie and all around him. His legacy will live on in the love and energy he has given his family. With folded hands  

Santha was my first hiring manager at Fannie over 17 years ago. His wisdom, technical breadth, work ethic and amazing will to solve for the right outcome have inspired so many of us. His family was his anchor and  deepest pride.  He was always someone you could  consult with and his willingness to help  was unwavering. I  fondly recall so many of our conversations. collaborations and his amazing timing in wit. His legacy will live on in the love and energy he has given his family. With folded hands  prayers and much gratitude - namaste!

The best word I can think of to remember Santha is "Resiliency". Although, I have NOT had the luxury of working directly on his team, I've had the pleasure of working with him since 2001 towards a better technology resiliency posture. The 3900 Wisconsin data center fire paved the way for the Reston Data Center, which paved the way for the Urbana Tech Center and multiple Disaster Recovery exercises and resiliency tests after. I had a 10-year "sabbatical" from Fannie Mae and when I returned in early 2018,  I started working with Santha on Out of Region resiliency. It was a true "homecoming" for me. Technology resiliency was the steel thread that brought Santha and I together and I will be forever grateful for our collaboration, passionate debates and work camaraderie. I will miss him but will be consoled in the fact that his memory and his spirit will resiliently remain with me.


I’ve known Santha for over 12 years.  He and I loved to debate but we always closed with a smile.  He became a good friend and I will miss his stories about chess matches with his son and his adventures when he went home.  His laugh was infectious and I loved how he never took himself too seriously.  He was so proud of his son, anytime he talked about him, his face just lit up.  I will miss him.  Rest In Peace, my friend.

As a vendor supporting Fannie Mae for 15+ years where I have actually not been able to meet Santha in person only by phone I had a unique vantage point. Through his positions I saw him move across different groups and it was great to see his career grow. His impact to the amazing work, teams and people will leave a legacy at Fannie Mae.  I also got to know him through our consultants who always loved working for him. They felt supported, learned immensely, were challenged but also appreciated. His voice is one I always looked forward to hearing. Not just for the sound but the energy and wisdom. My deepest sympathy to his wife and children. You are in my prayers. Thank you for sharing Santha will all of us in all these different ways! 

I met Santha  as a graduate student in the Physics Department of the University of Cincinnati. He  was a few years junior to me. Santha was very charming and extremely resourceful. A smile permanently resided on his face. I never heard him say a harsh word to anyone.  He was a joy to be with.  Now  The Almighty God will enjoy his presence. Long  live Santha. Enjoy your new life.

I have worked with Santha over the last 5 years in different teams and different roles.  In all interactions with him over the years, Santha always came through on his commitments.  Technically astute and full of institutional knowledge, he used his experience well and came to be well-known as the go-to problem solver.  He had a wonderful way of dealing with people and getting results delivered - be it having difficult conversations or getting the team out of tough situations.  He made it look easy working with difficult people; something I always tried to learn from him.

Santha leaves a big void in our organization and it won't be easy to overcome his loss.

RIP, Santha. 

I remember meeting Santha in 2004 and I had the pleasure of working with him on numerous projects. He was clearly the fastest talker at Fannie Mae and I frequently would tease him and ask him to speak at my speed. He was a clear genius and impressed me many conference calls during outages. Santha will clearly live in through us as long as we remember him and talk about the times he made us laugh and the times you thought he was yelling at you in an email but he really wasn’t. 

Santha I will miss you, rest in peace friend.


I first met Santha in 2002, on 6th floor, 4250 Connecticut Avenue Fannie Mae bldg. I was part of a technical demo that Santha participated in. Listening to his questions during the demo, it was clear to me that Santha had great passion, dedication, care and the urge to do the right thing for the work we all were part of. From there on, in the last 17+ years, I crossed paths with Santha on numerous projects, conference calls (some of them during nights and weekends), social events, etc. In all my interactions, I saw the same Santha with high energy and passion for doing the right thing. Over the years, we bonded very well at personal level frequently discussing the joy that our kids bring to us as we had a common high school that our kids went to. I miss you my friend. You have left a void at our work place and will always be remembered. Wherever you are, I wish you peace and happiness. My prayers are with you, your family, friends and colleagues.

I had a privilege to work with Santha in 2014. He was a great influencer and humorous. He is very caring for the people and value their opinions in his decisions. He will be missed by Fanniemae friends and may his soul rest in peace. My condolences to his family and I pray Almighty to give ensure strength to cope up the loss.

I met Santha in 2005 as one of his technology solution providers.  He was always enthusiastic, considerate and above all a friend.   He was a brilliant technologist and open to change and new ideas.  I know his family was his highest priority as he always spoke with great pride about his children and his wife.  My sincerest and heartfelt condolences to his Fannie Mae family and to Kumudini, Saritha and Isuru.  We will all miss him.


Santha, was wonderful person in all regards: a pleasure to work with as a colleague, and to know as a friend. As I write this, I am recalling many interactions with him at Fannie, and discussing the Chess aspirations of our sons.  He will be missed. 

I have known Santha for 8 years and have worked closely with him on many projects.  He was always professional and a calming force, especially in the thick of fire drills - Santha’s specialty.  In addition to his brilliance troubleshooting issues, he truly cared about people and was always wanting to know about you.  Likewise,  we go to know about the many chess tournaments he took his son to.  Always cheerful, always willing to help, always a friend.  Santha, you are deeply missed.

My prayers to the family, friends, and colleagues.  

I knew Santha just for a year. He has a pleasing personality and willingness to help everyone. I pray for his family and God bless his soul rest in peace.

Santha was always such a joy to talk to.  I will never forget me walking into his office and starting our conversations with, "so how's my favorite manager doing today?".   I'd always ask what he was working on, and he was more than eager to share, and whiteboard what he was working on.  I still can't get over your passing, you parted way too soon.  For those who knew you and loved you, your early departure comes to us as a great big loss.  You will be missed my friend.  May you rest in peace.

I was privileged enough to know Santha for over 20 years. From my early days in  the ESM organization, Santha was one of the first people I met on the Unix team. I remember working on a Saturday and Santha had his daughter helping him install Unix workstations. He was proud of his family and always took time to ask about how you and your family were doing. We bonded over troubleshooting issues many of which were late night calls. He was always a voice of reason and sanity. I cannot believe you are gone but your legacy at Fannie Mae will last for a long time. I will miss you my friend . May you Rest In Peace.

I met Santha 5 years ago and worked with him on multiple projects over the years. He was respected for his technical acumen, but he also brought light to others with his cheerfulness. My sincerest condolences to the family. Santha will be dearly missed.

Started my career at Fannie Mae sharing primary pager with Santha, we continued to work together for several years.  He was always passionate, energetic and focused at work and with friends and family.  Sincerest condolences and prayers to family, friends and colleagues.

He was brilliant and very professional.  He will be missed.
Sincere condolences to the family.

We've known the family since 2006 and our Children grew up together. We are deeply saddened the sudden demise of Dr. Sumith Santha Attanagoda, a great person with integrity and character, a well respected individual, sensitive and fair minded person, a great husband, caring father, joyful friend and community figure. (He has touched so many Hearts).
"Life is so tender, so fragile, so very precious. Our Heartfelt Condolences & Thoughts of deep and sincere sympathy are with you at this difficult time. RIP".

I met Santha back in 2006 at Fannie Mae, and got to know him both professionally and personally.  While Santha is known for his technical acumen, hard work ethic, intelligence, sense of humor and so much more, it's his personal qualities that made the biggest impression on me.  He cared about people.  He took the time to put work aside and talk about the personal things that matter such as family.  If you shared something personal, he never forgot and would always ask how things were going.  Santha will be deeply missed.  

During this time, I pray that God would comfort and show His love to the family.

God Bless,

Juan

Santha’s passion, wittiness, smile and fondness for laughter will be sorely missed.  His passing is an enormous loss to so many.  My sincerest condolences and prayers to family, friends and colleagues.  Rest In Peace Santha and keep the Heavens on their toes!

I was truly impressed with your work ethic and knowledge during our years working together.   I'm sorry and shocked to hear of your passing.  My condolences to your family and loved ones.  Rest in peace my friend.

Santha always had a smile, treated people with care, and would go out of his way to help others. We will miss him! May his soul rest in peace.

It is a tremendous personal and professional loss. There will be none other like Santha. Sincere condolences to the family. 

I worked with Santha for many years. He was brilliant, passionate, energetic. We had many passionate debates. We didn't always see things the same way, but we always respected each other. Rest In Peace my friend. Sincere condolences to your family whom you loved so much.

Always smiling and bringing smiles whenever we met. One of the few who are commonly known by his last name. And he was always available.

For sure, he will be missed. 




Sumith was in my senior batch at the University of Colombo. When  I first entered the university, Sumith would give me valuable advice as to how to succeed in exams which really helped. I always appreciated his willingness to help, his cheerful nature and friendliness. 

Kumudini --- I am deeply  saddened and heartbroken for you and your family !!   I know no words can lessen or comfort you at this time of great loss but please know you are truly loved by many.     

I’ve known him since 2006. One of the finest mind and an amazing person he was. I’ve worked under his leadership and learnt a lot. He will be missed. May his soul Rest In Peace.



I know and worked with Santha for  a very long time. ...I will miss his leadership , and friendship a nd his smile every time we meet....Rest in peace my dear friend.

OBITUARY

Attanagoda Sumith Santha

April 12, 1960 – January 28, 2019

Demaine Funeral Home – Fairfax

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