Giriraj Rao, the doyen of the Indian-American community in Atlanta, and executive director of the Gandhi Foundation of USA, passed away at the North Fulton Hospital on April 1. He was 83.

The end came at 12.30 pm, after a month at the intensive care unit of the hospital.

“Giribhai” as he was lovingly called, was born in Chennai and moved to the USA in 1947. He was a senior scientist at the Coca-Cola Company.

He co-founded the Gandhi Foundation of the USA in 1997. Giribhai also served as chairman of the board of directors of the Indian American Cultural Association in 1988 and as the trustee of the National Federation of Indian American Associations.

Giribhai was the first Asian-American to receive the Governor's Award in the Humanities last year, recognizing a lifetime of service to communities. His Holiness the Dalai Lama also recognized him at an interfaith conference at Emory University last year.

He is survived by wife Elena, sons Matthew and Shawn, and stepdaughter Alisa. Giribhai's first wife Carolina Aquino, mother of sons Matthew and Shawn, passed away in 1997.

The funeral Service for Giribhai will be held at 2:30 pm on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at the Wages and Sons Funeral Home; 1040 Main Street; Stone Mountain, Georgia, 30083. Tel # 770-469-9811.