Obituary of Saryu Shah

Saryu Devchand Shah, born October 29, 1960, suddenly and peacefully passed away on the morning of January 10, 2020, at the age of 59. She was born in Mutare, Zimbabwe, and made a home in New Jersey for the past 37 years. Saryu received her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (minor in Mathematics) from the University of Calgary in 1982. She then married Haresh Shah, her husband of 38 years, and made a full life with both family and career. She was beloved and respected by friends, colleagues and mentors both in the US and abroad. Over the last 25 years, she worked at AT&T as a Principal Member of the Technical Staff. Saryu was a kind, intelligent, thoughtful and caring person, who loved spending time with her family and friends. They remember her as a dedicated mother, who treasured her children and embraced every moment with them. She had a bright and beautiful smile. Her personality and character showed through her passions, which included preparing her famous taco dinners, challenging dubious Scrabble submissions, watching reruns of her favorite Harrison Ford films and intensely loving her friends and family. She is survived by her husband, Haresh; her children, Amil and Kammi; her mother, Saroj Devchand; her siblings (and their spouses), Medha (Gavin), Kash (Jodi), Pallavi and Anil; and her six nieces and nephews Megan, Mielen, Kaylin, Jenna, Blake and Brendan. A visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung, NJ. Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, January 16, 2020 at Higgins Home for Funerals at 10:00 a.m. EST, followed by cremation at Somerset Hills Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations in support of Saryu’s passions for providing opportunities to women in STEM and encouraging open source investment, development and education can be made to the Saryu Shah Memorial Fund for Girls Who Code. The Girls Who Code mission is to help inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities and become change agents in their communities. https://give.classy.org/SaryuShahGirlsWhoCode