Ashok Kumar Gupta, 74, died surrounded by his closest loved ones in the early morning of May 30, 2023. He was a beloved husband and patriarch, an ambitious businessman, a worldly devotee of sports and culture, and a prodigious absorber of knowledge and wisdom.
Born on Jan. 12, 1949 and raised in Chennai, India, Ashok formed friendships during high school that lasted his entire life and stretched across the globe.
By the age of 19, he had already graduated early from high school and earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Alagappa Chettiar College of Technology. In 1969, he became the first in his family to relocate to the United States to pursue additional higher education. The results included a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University in 1971; a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Minnesota State University in 1976; and a master’s in business administration from Minnesota State in 1984.
His academic accomplishments translated to such positions as controller for the companies Rexnord and Contech, chief financial officer for CBSI, and, for the last 15 years of his career, financial consultant for the Delaware Lottery.
His U.S. journey took him from Washington state to Minnesota, where he married Indira Srivastava in 1983 following a memorable first date at the Rusty Pelican restaurant in Miami, Florida. While living in Minneapolis, the pair welcomed their first child, Arjun. Later they relocated to Florida, where their daughter, Aparna, was born, before heading to Michigan and finally Delaware.
Ashok’s friends and family saw him as upbeat and unwavering. He loved to greet his children, grandchildren, and nieces and nephews alike with a hearty “Hey, kiddo!” and never failed to celebrate even their smallest victories.
“It’s rare that you have a relationship with a parent that’s so simple as my relationship with my dad was,” said his daughter, Aparna O’Connor. “I always knew he loved me, I always knew he was proud of me, and I always knew he would support whatever I chose.”
Sports and movies occupied much of Ashok’s leisure time. He was passionate about the often- beleaguered Minnesota Vikings, and rarely missed an overseas cricket match, no matter the hour.
He could rattle off encyclopedic repertoires of athletic statistics and Bollywood song lyrics, to which he would enthusiastically dance at family weddings. Crossword puzzles and word games kept him active even when he was at rest.
He appreciated–and implored others to appreciate–meals that reminded him of his native South India, and desserts that indulged his insatiable sweet tooth. “He made even the most mundane tasks enjoyable,” one friend shared.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Shailendra, who passed in 2008.
He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Indira Gupta; children Arjun Gupta, 39, and Aparna O’Connor, 35; son-in-law, Sean O’Connor; and grandchildren Aria O’Connor, 3, and Liam O’Connor, 2, as well as a broad network of extended relatives and longtime friends.
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