Dr. Giriwar Narain Das' Obituary
Dr. GIRIWAR NARAIN DAS, MD (1927-2021)
Dr. Giriwar Das (affectionately known as “Doctor Sahib”) was born in Dariapur village, in the district of Munger in Bihar, India in 1927. He lost his father when he was 3 years old during a cholera epidemic in Dariapur. He was raised by his widowed mother with the help of supportive uncles and aunts. He was the first in his family to attend any college past a high school education. He attended Milki Middle and Haveli High School in Kharagpur. Wishing he could have saved his father, he wanted to become a doctor to help people.
Our Dad moved to the nearest big town of Bhagalpur on the banks of river Ganges to attend TNB college majoring in Biology. While in Bhagalpur, he married our mother Damayanti. Their marriage was arranged by his mother’s sister (Masi) who lived next door to my mother’s family. Our Dad lived with our mother’s family while attending College. Being an excellent student, he was admitted to Darbhanga Medical College in northern Bihar on the border with Nepal.
After finishing medical school and residency, he found his first job in internal medicine at the Bihar Military Service in Katihar, Purnea district where he served for 4 years. We lived there as an extended family with our grandmother (Dadi), cousin and others.
After retiring from military service, he joined the Bihar Govt. Medical Services. He then moved to Narkatiaganj in the Champaran district. After running a district hospital for many years, he moved to Darbhanga and practiced at Darbhanga Medical College Hospital. Not satisfied with his experience and training, he went back to school and received a Master of Medicine (MD) and a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) degree. He moved to Bhagalpur and practiced at Bhagalpur Medical college Hospital. He rose to the high post of Civil Surgeon in the Gopalganj district, managing and heading the medical service hospitals & facilities for the entire Gopalganj district.
After retiring in India, he moved to the United States to stay with his son in Kentucky, then New York, and eventually in California where he lived with his youngest son and family during the last 32 years of his life (1990-2021).
He devoted most of his retirement years to providing educational, cultural, religious, healthcare clinic and several temples to his beloved village of Dariapur. He provided land and most of the start-up capital, and financial support to maintain the institutions he started. He opened a high school bearing his name “Dr. G. N. Das High School” that has matriculated hundreds of students to achieve high school education, since 1994. These graduates have gone to become productive members of society in science, law, medicine, and education.
He passed away leaving a loving family of three sons, 6 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren, in the United States. His eldest son, Dr. Subodh Das is an engineer and lives with his family in St. Louis, Missouri. His second son, Dr. Vijay Das is a physician and lives with his family in Fort Myers, Florida. And his youngest son, Ajay Das is an engineer who lives in Milpitas, California with his family.
He passed away peacefully chanting Sanskrit slokas “Om Namah Shivaya Mantra “, blessing his families and everyone in the US and India. He died on June 17, 2021, at 3:55 am, in California surrounded by his sons, grandchildren, and all his extended family and friends.
With Regards,
- Dr. Subodh Das
- Kiran Das
- Nalini Mahadevan
- Dr. Vijay Das
- Manju Das
- Ajay Das
- Geetam Das
- Mona Das
- Som Das
- Misty Das
- Jacklyn Das
- Julia Tulke
- Devin Das
- Jordan Das
- Priyam Das
- Jordan Shou
- Jaya Das
- Narayan Das
- Niam Das
- Loving companion and pet, Bruno
- Entire family from India
What’s your fondest memory of Dr. Giriwar?
What’s a lesson you learned from Dr. Giriwar?
Share a story where Dr. Giriwar's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Dr. Giriwar you’ll never forget.
How did Dr. Giriwar make you smile?