Suseela Devi Botlagudur

Suseela Devi Botlagudur, a beloved physician and devoted family matriarch, passed away on October 26th. She was 91 years young. Upon witnessing, at the tender age of 8, the near-death of her mother from pregnancy complications in a remote village in India, Suseela vowed to become a village doctor.

It was the 1940s, not a time when Indian families were actively educating their daughters. Her father, however, active in the pro-Independence movement and considered a progressive thinker for his time, was her biggest cheerleader. Suseela’s dream of becoming a doctor became a ‘cause’ her close-knit family gladly took on. And in 1961, she graduated as an OB/GYN specialist from Andra Medical College in Visakhapatnam, India. Her fate would change the summer of 1962 while she was in her hometown of Nellore recuperating from a bout of jaundice. As chance would have it, the neighbor’s son, Krishna Rao, was also home from university. They married in 1964. She and Krishna became a loving, ‘opposites attract’ couple. It was Krishna’s idea to emigrate to the United States. Although her horoscope would reveal she would travel the globe, Suseela never wanted to leave India. So fate stepped in and in the summer of 1968, she reluctantly left everything she knew to start a new life in the US. She and Krishna settled in Woodbridge, New Jersey, not too far from Krishna’s work at M&T Chemicals in Rahway. By then, son Sreenivas (aka Steve) was 4 years old. Over the years, New Jersey— particularly Middlesex County— was a place Suseela grew to love as her home. Those early years in NJ were happy and filled with new life experiences. She had become a full-time mom to Steve, relishing the novelties of household appliances, Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons, and spaghetti dinners. Two years later in 1971, daughter Rama was born. It was a quintessential 1970s family life with little league games, ballet recitals, and family road trips in the station wagon. In 1973, the family moved from an apartment in Woodbridge to a starter house in Fords as she completed a residency program at Perth Amboy General Hospital (now Raritan Bay Medical Center). Suseela was juggling home life with doctor’s hours at the hospital and not feeling particularly satisfied. Husband Krishna, often seen as the quiet counterpoint to Suseela’s warm and social nature was always fiercely supportive of her dreams. It was he who suggested she open her solo medical practice.

“SUSEELA D. BOTLAGUDUR, family practice” opened in the Spring of 1977 on Route 18 in Old Bridge, NJ. An unobtrusive announcement placed in the Home News and the Courier News on May 16-17, 1977 led to a fully booked schedule within a week. That announcement’s use of the phrase “her” practice seemed to be the determinative factor. The family moved to Suseela’s “dream home” on a wooded lot in East Brunswick in 1985 to be closer to her office. Suseela begrudgingly retired after 53 years in medical practice. Ever the doctor, she faithfully continued to carry her stethoscope in her handbag until her last days. Affectionately dubbed “Dr. B,” patients became her employees, shared secret family recipes, played favorite selections of music, and extended invitations to family weddings and christenings.

It would seem she had become a village doctor after all. Suseela Devi Botlagudur was born in Gudur, India October 20, 1933. The eldest of three sisters she was born to parents Krishna and Sarojini Gattupalli. Her maternal grandmother, Radha, and uncle, C. Kondapi were a guiding and loving presence in her life until their deaths. Suseela Devi’s influence and impact on the broader family has been profound. Several grandchildren and grandnieces now lovingly carry some derivative of the name, Devi, as well as enter professions inspired by her.

She will be sadly missed by: Husband Krishna Botlagudur; son Steve Botlagudur (wife Dr. Kavitha Vadde and their sons Kirin and Prem) of Old Tappan, NJ; daughter Rama Botlagudur Eriksson (husband Anders Eriksson and their children Deven and Sunita Maia-Devi) of Stockholm, Sweden; nephew Dr. Aswani Volety (wife Dr. AiNing Loh with daughters Uma and Mia) of Wilmington, NC and cousin Ramakrishna Kondapi (wife Patricia Kriegisch) of Liverpool, NY.

In India, she leaves her middle sister Sobha Rani Volety, along with nephews Ganapathi Rao Volety, Krishna Dhurjaty, and nieces Girija (Dhurjaty) Venkata and Kalpana (Dhurjaty) Vallipe and their respective families. She was predeceased earlier this year by her youngest sister, Suchetha Dhurjaty.

A celebration of life memorial will be planned for a later date.

To honor Suseela’s life and legacy, please donate generously to Partners in Health https://www.pih.org/donate in support of female health and education.