Raj Rawal

Rama Rawal grew up in India. She taught in a private school and was one of few women at the time to earn a master’s degree. In 1968, she came to America with her two sons to join her husband in Stamford, Conn. Only in May 2019 did she move to Vermont to live with her son, Raj, and his family. In the one year she was here, Rama and Raj liked to take drives together, up and down Interstate 289 in Essex. Here’s Raj:

"I would play old Hindi film songs, Bollywood songs, as they're called. And, you know, she would sing along, and it was just a good feeling. And she would enjoy that. We would look at the scenery, how pretty it is, how sunny it is, how peaceful it is. But it was just nice. It would just be the two of us, because everybody's busy. And I have time and she has time. And it was our time together. And now when I do that, I listen to music and I cry. But you know, it's just a beautiful memory."

Rama Rawal died on April 1, 2020 at University of Vermont Medical Center at the age of 86.

Raj Rawal remembering mother Rama Rawal

Essex, Vermont