Tributes to Mr. Alfred Bhaskar, the First President of UECF

As we deeply miss him, I would like to share some of the instances where he stood first. First President of UECF: As you know, he was the first president of UECF. With a passion for Christ and a vision for our community, he did his best for the growth of this fellowship. Today, UECF has grown this far by following his ideals. First funeral in UECF: As you are aware, uncle Bhaskar was the architect of the UECF's Constitution. While referring the constitution, I was marking the checklist of ongoing UECF activities against the ones listed in Goals and Objectives section of constitution which states - “Conduct other services on special occasions such as religious festivals, marriages, birthdays, baptisms, anniversaries and funerals”. While reading, I paused at the word 'funerals', but little did I know at that time that uncle Bhaskar's would be the first funeral service in the UECF. First to be with the Lord: Some of you would have read his article which was published in in the Souvenir that was released on UECF's 10th Anniversary. He told me that it took him 30 minutes to write that article titled “We are in the final innings of the game “. He raised a couple of questions in the article - “Are you getting ready to face your creator? What are your plans? “. After challenging us with those questions, he was the first one to go to be with the Lord. Aunty drove him for dialysis for the first time: When I was consoling Shanthi aunty, she was lamenting by saying – “all these years, I never drove him for dialysis”. Last Monday was the first time she drove him to the hospital for dialysis. Sadly, that was the last and final in the life time. First Christian Family Conference in Virginia: Last September, we had a Christian Family Conference in Virginia for the first time. When I informed him of the Conference, he readily accepted my invitation, pre-scheduled his dialysis and traveled all the way to Virginia just to give me encouragement. In spite of his impediment, he presented a special solo song at the first conference in Virginia for the glory of God. A story to share: After we heard the news of his demise, my little daughter asked me to tell her a bed time story. I started like this: Once upon a time, there was a lion. He calls rabbits, giraffes and all the other animals for rehearsals. He gets angry, if someone is not singing properly. He asks them to sing again and again till they do it right. And the story went on … at last the lion died. “He went to heaven?” my little daughter asked. “Yes mamma”

“He is singing in heaven?” she asked again. “I think so” “So… all of them have to sing all by themselves now?” another question. Yes… though he is not with us physically, the vision he set forth for UECF and the path he showed us will definitely help continuing the singing. We often sing a well-known Telugu song “Paadeda Halleluya, maranatha Halleluya”. He sang this song till his last day. It was a privilege for me to sing along with him for the last time during UECF's 10th year celebrations. I remember - when my mother-in-law went to be with the Lord in December 2000, we were comforted by the UECF families. At that time Uncle Bhaskar said this to me – Any other American Church would have simply sent you a bouquet of flowers and sympathies during this time, but here is UECF which really cares for the families and makes a difference. Uncle Bhaskar loved this fellowship so much; however, there was an occasion when he asked me “Am I considered a member of this Fellowship?” At that time, I said to him “As a founding President, you are a lifetime member of UECF”. Today, I say … even after his death, he remains in our hearts and in the history of UECF forever. I would like to conclude by saying this: his name “Bhaskar” in Telugu means Sun. This sun has set, but the light rays reflected on him will continue to shine in UECF.

Profile : Mr. Alfred Bhaskar son of Late Mr. D. Naraiah and Late Mrs. Kanthamma also known as D.A. Bhaskar, Israel. He was born and raised in Madras (Chennai, India). He completed his formal education at Kellet High School, Madras; did his BE (1955) in Telecommunication Engineering, Guindy, Madras; ME (1981), Microwave/Wireless Engineering, Osmania University, Hyderabad; and MS (1984), Computer Engineering, Boston University, USA, 1984. He started his career at Andhra Electricity Board (Madras, 1955), and moved on to Overseas Communications Service (Bombay, 1956-1961). He was married to Shanthi in 1961 in Madras and worked in several places in India as his job led him – at Neyveli Lignite Corporation (Neyveli, 1961-1962), and Indian Railways (1962-1983). He took voluntary retirement as a Chief Signal Telecommunication Engineer in the South Central Railway at Secunderabad and moved with his family to Boston, USA in 1983 where he got his MS degree from Boston University. He worked at Computer Vision in Boston for a year. He then moved to AT&T in Lincroft, New Jersey in 1985 where he worked for 16 years as Member of Technical Staff at AT&T, Lucent, and Avaya Corp. During his tenure he received many outstanding achievement awards for his expertise in the field of wireless and digital communications. He took an active part in the Indian Christian Ministry and was closely associated with the Asian Indian Christian Church almost from its inception until 1996. He was one of the original founders of the United Evangelical Christian Fellowship based in Edison and was actively involved in its ministry from 1997 until the day he died. He was fond of singing and used his musical talent extensively to support Christian ministry especially in his native Telugu language. He liked composing gospel songs in Telugu. He was closely associated with the Telugu Christian Fellowship of New Jersey and the United Telugu Christian Fellowship in New York. He was a very loving family man and a devout Christian who instilled Biblical values in his children and grandson. He had great leadership qualities and touched many people with his love, kindness, generosity, humor, and singing talent. He was a father figure to many and was loved and respected by his family, relatives, and friends. He leaves behind his beloved wife Shanthi, sons Samuel, Ravinder and his wife Vatsala and grandson Joseph, Ajay and his wife Suneela, and Sanjay and his wife Madhuri. He is also survived by a brother, Karunakar in Chennai, a sister Parimala in Coimbatore, India, beloved nephew Suresh, and other nephews, friends, and well-wishers in India and in the US.