Ravinder Prakash

Ravinder (nickname: Ravi) Prakash was born on May 11, 1949 in Ambala, India to his late father, Rajeshwar Prashad Prakash, and his late mother, Satyawati Prakash. He is pre-deceased by his late brothers Som Prakash and Gyan Prakash, and his late sister, Nandi Mital. The Prakash family was noted to be the first to bring modern infrastructure to the city of Ambala and was the primary employer of the city for many years. Ravi graduated from Benarsi Dass high school (the namesake of his grandfather) in 1962. He went on to study pre-engineering at SD College in Ambala and received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani. He immigrated to the United States in 1971 where he graduated from State University of New York - Buffalo in 1978 with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. He was hired as an Engineer at IBM in 1981. There Ravi had an illustrious career where he was bestowed the title of Master Inventor, an honor given to few; he then was promoted to Senior Technical Staff Member, only two of whom were in Charlotte at the time. As proclaimed in an email to his well-wishers announcing his retirement from IBM in 2007, Ravi often felt like his second career started when his work at IBM ended. Supporting his family and friends was of utmost importance to him and brought him immense joy. Ravi is survived by his wife, Hemant Prakash, his daughter, Sarita Prakash, his son, Rohit Prakash, his sisters Subhashini Jain and Neelam Gupta, his nieces Sapna Jain, Deepa Mital, and his nephews, Anuj Gupta, Ashish Gupta, Anil Mital, and Manish Jain. Ravi’s passions included cooking, traveling, badminton, horseback riding, and nature. Perhaps the greatest of his passions was to be there for others less fortunate than he. He led his life with optimism; people will remember his energy, humor, humbleness, gentleness, kindness, and attention to detail in everything he did. These passions and traits were infectious, and carried into the lives of his wife, children, family and friends. He loved life. Ravi’s relationships had tremendous depth and he always ensured the well-being of others around him. He smiled, he advised, he loved. This is what his family and friends will miss the most about him. For the community, Ravi organized trips to Europe, planned gatherings, walks, helped with extracurriculars at school and local sports teams, and championed the value of education for all throughout his lifetime. He and his wife Hema, supported organizations such as CVAN for Battered Women and the United Way. After retirement from IBM, Ravi brought his passion for education to the local university and to the local primary education system where he organized both science and math tutorials as well as SAT Prep. In his later years, Ravi was blessed to be surrounded by many extended nieces and nephews in whom he instilled the value of education, as he had done for his own children. The family will receive people on Saturday, February 13, 2016, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm at Concord High School Auditorium. The service will begin at 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers please make donations in the Prakash Family name to CVAN for Battered Women (http://www.cvan.org/DonateNow.aspx).