Om Mahajan

Om P. Mahajan of Wheaton, IL passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 28, 2015. In his 78 years Om led an extraordinary life across two continents. He was born in Sujanpur Tira, Punjab, British India in 1936. He spent much of his childhood in the Punjab city of Lahore before returning with his family to his birthplace after the Partition of India in 1947. At the top of his class throughout his school years, he earned his B.S. (Honors degree) in Chemistry from Punjab University-Hoshiarpur before going on to receive his M.S. and Ph.D. in Physical Science from Punjab University-Chandigarh. He supported his parents and younger siblings throughout graduate school and his postdoctoral fellowship, frequently riding a bicycle from village to village tutoring students to earn extra money that would supplement his small stipend. In 1966 he married his wife, Nalini, with whom he would go on to spend 49 wonderful years. Just a few weeks after their marriage the couple would venture to the U.S., where Om had received a prestigious Fuel Science research fellowship at Penn State University. Om and Nalini spent three wonderful years at Penn State before returning to Chandigarh in 1969. A son, Anu, arrived in 1970. Om taught at his alma mater for five years before returning to Penn State, now as a faculty member, in 1974. The Mahajan family was completed with the birth of a second son, Tarun, in 1976. In 1979 Om left academia for the corporate world, accepting a position at Amoco Research Corporation in Naperville, IL. He and the family settled in a house in Wheaton, IL, where they remain today. Om's success continued unabated throughout his 20-year career at Amoco: multiple promotions at a rapid pace, leadership positions in international groups and at international conferences, and continued publication success. Om was happiest, however, that his new job afforded him more time with his family. He was a loving husband, serving his wife breakfast every morning, sharing her passions, and traveling the world with her. He was a devoted father, tirelessly supporting his sons in everything they did. He became a doting grandfather, constantly spoiling his grandsons. And his friends knew him as loving and dependable, always there to help and provide support when needed. Throughout his life, but especially after his retirement from Amoco in 1999, he passionately pursued a wide variety of interests. He was a voracious reader, devouring books on history and biography but maintaining a soft spot for the works of Thomas Hardy. He was a professional-class photographer. He was a self-taught wine connoisseur, with an extensive collection and a palate and level of knowledge that frequently blew away sommeliers at top-ranked restaurants. His knowledge of wine and poetry was legendary: he knew and loved music of almost all genres, and had memorized-- and would happily recite-- hundreds of Urdu poetry couplets. And his passions were contagious; few friends and family were unaffected by them. Om is survived by his beloved wife of 49 years, Nalini; two sons, Anu and Tarun; two daughters-in-law, Priti and Isha; two grandsons, Rohan and Ravi; and three surviving siblings, Satish, Kusum (“Baby”), and Vinod ("Billu"). Memorial donations in memory of Om may be made to the National Kidney Foundation at www.kidney.org. Additionally, a puja ceremony will be held on Wednesday evening from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm, July 1st at Arya Samaj Center located at 700 Hillview Avenue, West Chicago, IL 60185. Dinner will also be provided.