Girish Heramb Kulkarni

Girish Heramb Kulkarni, age 77, of Ohio, passed away on Friday, February 27th, 2026. 

Girish Heramb Kulkarni was born to Heramb Suryakant Kulkarni and Indira Heramb Kulkarni nee Sashittal in Shimla, India on August 27th, 1948. At age 3 Girish and his family moved to Thailand for his Father’s job at the United Nations. He would continue to tell many people of his fondness for his time there playing with the all of the children and learning Thai, and grow up to enjoy Thai cooking with a special zest. He later went to attend the Scindia School for Boys in Gwalior, from age 8 to 15, where he made life long friends, he would later visit with his family to offer a scholarship. Upon graduating he moved back to Bombay and attended SIES (South Indian Education Society). Giish continued to do his Bachelors in Chemical Engineering at UDCT (University Department of Chemical Technology) to study chemical engineering, where he was the General Secretary of the Student’s Association. Upon graduation Girish bravely travelled to America, to Rochester, NY to obtain a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Rochester, becoming his first adventure in America, one of many to come..

Girish married Dr. Anjali Adur in September of 1976 at Pendruangashram Hall, Chtrapur Society Bandra. Shortly after they settled in Cleveland, OH, beginning their next journey. They raised their daughters, Meenal and Tara, in Richmond Heights and later in Orange Village, making many friends and memories along the way. Girish was an extraordinary Father, showing his daughters that life really had no limits. He raised them to believe they could do anything and deserved everything they worked for. He would always encourage others to believe everything was within reach. Throughout his life he instilled in his family a love for knowledge through his love of books, history, different cultures, museums, and travel. Most of all, he loved meeting new people who he engaged with in his jovial way, with curiosity and respect. He was brilliant, with an exceptional memory.

He and Anjali created a welcoming home which over the years hosted holidays, birthdays, graduations, weddings, and countless celebrations; creating traditions that will undoubtedly continue in his honor.

Girish cannot be mentioned without speaking of his joie-de-vivre. He was the most enthusiastic, the most gregarious, and the ultimate philomath and polymath. He would ask, “Do you know what those words mean? Look the words up!”. He was knowledgeable about almost every subject, ranging from chemical equations to world religions, from obtuse details about politicians and musicians to history and language. It’s no surprise that he was excellent at crossword puzzles. He loved the crossword puzzle online community and even was gifted a personalized puzzle from a famous author years ago.

As much as he enjoyed learning, he was equally enthralled when sharing his knowledge, with anyone and everyone. He was a storyteller of grand proportions, regaling anyone at the table. ever the life of the conversation. Girish could take someone’s life story and memorialize and embellish it to the highest degree, laughing all along the way.

He was an exceptional cook, entirely self-taught, shaped by both hunger and his world travels. He had a strong appreciation for flavor and was known throughout the family for being the best cook - from typical South Indian dishes to Indian street food, and most importantly, for cooking anything his family wanted.

Family was ultimately the most important thing to Girish. As the youngest of his siblings, he looked up to his elder brothers with adoration. All of his beloved nieces and nephews have stories of their adventures with him, both in India and America. He was the fun Uncle, and as he grew, and travelled to America for graduate school, he became the brave Uncle, and later the wise Uncle, but always remained “fun”. His devotion to his wife Anjali was unparalleled. In his words, she was his “guiding star”, his "guardian angel”, and the “light of his life”.

Their devotion spanned continents and decades and only grew stronger and more steadfast. Girish passed on as he lived his life, surrounded by his family and a tremendous amount of love.

Girish is survived by his wife, Anjali, his daughters Meenal and Tara, sons-in-law, Chetan and Sachin, and grandchildren, Keshav, Aarav, and Leela Patil.

The viewing and pooja will be held on Sunday, March 1st, 2026, starting at 2:00 pm at LeRoy P. Wooster Funeral Home & Crematory, 441 White Horse Pike, Atco, NJ, Cremation to follow. Condolences may be shared on his tribute wall.To view the livestream and recording of the service, please click here.