Dr. Suresh Velagapudi

“I’d rather be a Tigger than an Eeyore.” In times of trouble, the right words always seemed to roll off Suresh’s tongue. He was known for his dedication to the people around him, never failing to put others before himself. Suresh was born on November 27th, 1960, and arrived in the United States at the age of 12 with his Uncle and Aunt. Even during his formative years, he worked multiple jobs to support his family while studying at Conant High School and then Loyola University. He continued at the University of Illinois-Chicago Medical School, where he obtained his medical degree and then went on to become a successful orthopaedic surgeon. On June 3rd 1987, Suresh married Anita and together they brought three wonderful children into the world. As a dedicated father, he enjoyed coaching soccer and basketball, attending band, orchestra, and piano concerts, and loved going to Bulls games with his family. In addition to always going to his children’s performances and games, he was a very bright mathematician who never failed to tutor his kids in the subject. Suresh was also a loving husband, and he never ceased to make Anita smile. Their dependence on each other developed a very loving and close knit family. Suresh continues to be survived by his wife Anita Velagapudi, his children Arjun, Swetha and Adarsh, his parents, Sitaramaiah and Jhansi Velagapudi, his sister Sujatha Yarlagadda and his brother Sunil Velagapudi. Along with his immediate family, Suresh will be greatly remembered by those whose lives he has made an impact on. We miss his warm smile, his enthusiastic greeting, his kindness, his quick and incisive mind, and above all, his dedication and service to others. Despite his life as a non-smoker, in March of 2009, he was diagnosed with non-small cell adenocarcinoma of the lung. Within the first year of his diagnosis, he underwent surgery and chemotherapy to treat his cancer. With the help of Lung Cancer research, LUNGevity Foundation gave him four wonderful, healthy, optimistic years during which he was able to continue spending time with his family, improving his community, and furthering his Orthopaedics practice by even becoming Chief of Staff. Despite his affliction with cancer, he never let that change his normal life. Throughout Suresh’s battle, in his fullest capacity, he wholeheartedly served his community, enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, and loved golfing and traveling the world. In lieu of gifts and flowers, please consider making a donation to the Lungevity fund: http://lungevity.donordrive.com/campaign/sureshvelagapudi

Dr. Suresh Velagapudi

December 14, 2015