Jaya Lakshmi

Jaya Lakshmi, beloved mother, sister, aunt, grandmother and great grandmother, passed away peacefully on Thursday, May 28th, 2026, in Cherry Hill, NJ surrounded by loved ones. She was 86 years old. She was born on April 21st, 1940, in Kadeynellore, Tamil Nadu, to Kuppuswamy Iyer and Meenakshi Ammal. The eldest of eight siblings, she was a youthful 17 when she married S. H. Lakshmanan.

Jaya's life is one of great accomplishments. She set high standards - for herself, for her home, her loved ones. She had her hands full raising four kids and caring for a mother-in-law and a niece, but she still found the energy to tutor Hindi to middle school kids, learn to play the Veena, and keep the kitchen always stocked with special homemade snacks. She loved the movies - Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English.

Jaya explored the world with her children, living in Chennai, Bombay, Jakarta, Chicago, Hyderabad, London, Seattle and Cherry Hill. She learnt Bahasa Indonesia while watching dubbed tele novelas, devoured literary tomes and gossip magazines with equal vigor, and enjoyed reading the newspaper end to end. She had a remarkable memory for dates of even the most obscure events and was ever ready to wager you about them.

She is survived by her children Harigopal, Gita, Ganesh, and Girish, and siblings Nataraj, Padmavathi, Kannan, Usha, and Jamuna. She will be cherished by many more who are blessed to have known her.

She led a class act leading a full life of energy, hope and high expectations. Even her peaceful and orderly passing away was one final beautiful lesson.

Family and friends are invited to her viewing on Saturday, May 30, 2026, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at LeRoy P. Wooster Funeral Home & Crematory, 441 White Horse Pike, Atco, NJ 08004.