Karappurath Vasudevan

With great sadness, and a profound sense of loss, we wish to announce the passing of our father, father-in-law, great uncle, grandfather, and great grandfather Karappurath (K.) Vasudevan, (Vasu) on September 6, 2024, following a prolonged illness. He is preceded by his wife Lalitha, and leaves behind his two children, Gopikrishnan Vasudevan and Sujatha Krishnan with their spouses Mini Vasudevan and Kumar Krishnan; grand-nephew Gopal Chandrashekaran and spouse Remya; and grandchildren Janaki Cash, Shiva Vasudevan, Sreeram Krishnan, Vishnu Vasudevan, Ambika Krishnan, Priyanka Krishnan; and great granddaughter Roma Meera Cash. It is with love and respect, that we acknowledge how indebted we are as a family to his vision, insight, hard work, perseverance and wisdom in the manner he has led by example. Vasu began his journey as an American immigrant landing at JFK airport in July of 1970, with a wife, a 10 yr. old son and a 20 month old daughter. He arrived not having any guarantee of a job and with only 2 suitcases containing all of the family possessions. Like many legal immigrants before him, arriving in the U.S.A was a major calculated gamble. He was determined to succeed and to be worthy of being an American. There was no naivety in his adoration and admiration for the promises and hope this country offered. Rather, it was a stubborn desire to conspicuously promote and praise the positive, while quietly trying to repair and resolve the negative. An example of this is the BLESS Fund. The Bartlesville Lincoln Elementary School Scholarship, (BLESS Fund), provided scholarships to students pursuing higher education beyond high school. Since 1994, BLESS has helped 105 students achieve their dreams with awards exceeding $400,000 towards their education. He was the most organized and hard working person anyone in our family has ever met. Vasu staunchly believed in the traditional old fashioned American work ethic and innovative “can do” spirit. It was always a dream for him to be at the forefront of a business that contributed to the common societal good, and treated its employees as an extended family. That dream came true in 1986, when he established Service and Technology Corporation (STC), a consulting engineering firm. In 1992, he founded Service and Manufacturing Corporation (SMC), a custom manufacturing firm, and in 2021, he created USAco, with a focus on manufacturing “Made in the U.S.A” consumer products. We know Vasu was well respected by the community for his competence, and was entrusted with many local projects such as the restoration of the Nellie Johnstone; the Sooner Park Play Tower; relocation of the Locomotive 940; the A4 Skyhawk display at the Washington Park Mall, to name a few. He collaborated with the Sutton Avian Research Center and invented a portable backpack incubator for their rehabilitation project which reintroduced Bald Eagles into the lower 48 states. He served two terms as a Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas CIty – Oklahoma City Branch. Vasu was always deeply grateful to the United States of America, and the Bartlesville community, for accepting and embracing him. He, in return, continuously strove to earn the privilege of that trust. He was good and true to his family, to his friends and business associates, to his employees, to his community and to his country. Our family will cherish all the guidance and wonderful moments we had with him. He will be deeply missed. With love, heartfelt gratitude and fond remembrances, we wish him moksha (eternal blissful liberation and loving union with divinity). If you wish to honor Vasu, in lieu of flowers, please send any contributions to: BLESS Fund, Inc.,105 South Penn, Bartlesville, OK 74003.

Karappurath Vasudevan

February 12, 1938 - September 6, 2024