Dr. Mangalam Ramaswami Gopal

FORT MYERS, FL — Dr. Mangalam Ramaswami Gopal passed away, peacefully in his sleep, on Oct. 17, 2024 in Fort Myers, Florida.

Dr Gopal was born Oct. 21, 1936 in Chennai, India. Born in a large family (he was 10th of 11 siblings), family was a centerpiece of his existence. He grew up with his brothers & sisters, and enjoyed an upbringing across Tamil Nadu & Kerala in south India. He went to college at Loyola College in Chennai, India and decided to take the leap of faith and become the first of his siblings to come to the United States for graduate studies, following in the footsteps of his brother who had just emigrated to Canada. He enrolled in the PhD program at the University of Michigan in 1960, focused on mathematics, with a specialty in complex analysis. After completing his doctoral studies, the first job he got offered as a professor where he would be guaranteed tenure in two years – and thus could get a green card – was at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan. He comically couldn’t locate Houghton on a map as he didn’t realize Michigan had both a Lower – and Upper! – Peninsula!

It was there that he began his career in earnest, spanning 40 years of educating students at one of Michigan’s top engineering schools. He married Lakshmi Nageswaran on Aug 28 1972 and shortly after, they had their first child, a son, Ravi, in 1974, followed by their younger son, Arun in 1980. Dr Gopal was a wonderful father & husband, driving the family all over the country (the family visited almost all the U.S. states in their childhood) to visit family & friends, all while supporting them in their math classes, quizzing them on their history/geography (he was a daily watcher of Jeopardy!) and most importantly, entertaining all who he encountered with a seemingly never-ending array of jokes & math puzzles! Wherever he was, you know there would be laughter & joy, as all eagerly looked forward to his amazing repertoire of jokes.

As the kids graduated high school, Dr Gopal retired from teaching and he & Lakshmi began their “blow the inheritance” phase (a comical phrase coined by his wife) whereby the two of them travelled the globe with family & friends – to places such as Greece, Egypt, Southeast Asia, Scandinavia & more.

In the Summer of 2014, Dr Gopal was diagnosed with Stage IIb pancreatic cancer. Led by Arun who was in medical residency, Dr Gopal was able to get a “Whipple” surgery procedure successfully completed, followed by six months of chemotherapy – and over the course of the next five years, was able to “graduate” from the cancer center. A modern miracle, as few if any are able to survive pancreatic cancer much less for 5 years, Dr Gopal continued his cheery ways. By this time, he & his wife had relocated to Fort Myers, Florida, to be closer to family.

Late in the Fall of 2023, the cancer reared its ugly head – and this time, with radiation, he was again able to defeat the cancer. Truly a miracle to defeat pancreatic cancer not once but twice. He used to ride his bicycle around his condo complex, the most relaxed 85 year-old man in the world.

Unfortunately, in the Spring of 2024, right after Arun’s wedding, Dr Gopal fell & broke his hip. Recovering from a hip fracture was too much for this 87 year-old two-time pancreatic survivor – who would have turned 88 just four days after he ultimately passed.

The world is a darker place without the continual jokes, humor & math wizardry of Dr Gopal. His family will attempt to carry on his legacy the best they can – with a focus most importantly on being, like Dr Gopal, the nicest, most humblest person there ever was.

He is survived by his wife Lakshmi, his sons Ravi & Arun, his daughters-in-law Anjali & Aarthi, his grandchildren Rohini & Rishi, 2 sisters & 1 brother. He will be missed by hundreds upon hundreds of cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.