Sujatat Roy

Sujata Roy of Princeton, NJ passed away Monday, April 19, 2021 at Spring Hills Senior Living in Princeton. She was 81.

Sujata Roy was born in 1939 in East Bengal, India, in what is now the village of Khalahati, Bangladesh. She was the second oldest of five siblings. Her parents, Amaresh and Archana Pramanik, were a high-school teacher and women's activist in India's Independence Movement.

In anticipation of India's independence and partition, Sujata's parents moved to Kolkata in the mid-1940's to seek a better education for their children. As a child, Sujata's parents focused on a well-rounded upbringing for both their sons and daughters, encouraging Sujata to pursue classical singing, dancing, the harmonia (a piano-like instrument), science and math. Sujata excelled in all of these areas, winning classical dance competitions, and was offered a starring role in a movie, which her mother did not allow her to accept.

Sujata was highly accomplished and broke many barriers. She came in first in her class during high school and was among the earliest female cohorts of mechanical engineering students in Shibpur Engineering College, a top-ranked school. Sujata's husband, Asit Roy, worked as a private tutor in the local community - he became Sujata's mentor and later spouse in a marriage that would last 55 years. Sujata later transferred to Presidency College to be closer to her family and achieved bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics and chemistry, finishing second in her class both times. Following college, Sujata gave birth to her first son Alex while obtaining her PhD in Organic Chemistry from the prestigious Bose Institute at Calcutta University.

Shortly after her graduation, in 1966, Sujata and Asit moved to the United States to take up post-doctoral research positions in Buffalo, NY. They lived in Paris, France for awhile before finding permanent work in the New York City area where they gave birth to a second son, Anjon. Sujata held research positions in academia and industry and was a research chemist for CUNO Corporation in Meriden, CT for decades, retiring in 1999. In immigrating to the United States, Sujata and Asit paved the way for two of their siblings to follow, who soon created families of their own.

Beyond her career accomplishments, Sujata was a devoted, loving mother, wife, aunt, and sister, and an active, well-respected member of the regional Bengali community. She will be remembered for her laughter, her love of music, her capacity to be "the glue" in her broader family, and her positivity.

Sujata was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 2010 and lost her husband Asit in 2013.

She is survived by her sons and daughter-in-laws, Anjon and Judith (Welling) Roy of Falls Church, VA, and Alex and Anna Roy of Maui, Hawaii; her four grandchildren Adam, Aiden, Asher and Kiran Roy; and her brother Ajay Pramanik and his family in Old Bridge, NJ.

A funeral Pooja will be held on Friday, April 23rd, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm, at Franklin Memorial Park, Rt. 27 & Cozzens Lane, North Brunswick. Arrangements are by The Crabiel Home for Funerals, 170 N Main St.-at Riva Avenue, Milltown. You may sign the online condolence "guestbook" at www.crabiel.com.

In lieu of flowers, please contribute to the Alzheimer's society fundraising page here: https://act.alz.org/site/TR/Events/Tributes-AlzheimersChampions?pg=fund&fr_id=1060&pxfid=679110