Live stream of Pat's Funeral Service on Friday, June 24, 2022 from 10AM to 12 Noon EST

Malta, NY - Prathviraj Kotekar "Pat" Nayak, a resident of Malta NY, passed away peacefully on June 21st, 2022. He was 89 years young, lived his best life, and was loved by many.

Pat was born in Mangalore, India in 1932. He was the oldest of 4 children raised mainly by his mother, since his father had passed at an early age. He was a precocious student, excelling in math and science pursuits in high school and college, majoring in biochemistry at Banaras University in Varanasi, India. Pat's academic talents allowed him to earn full scholarship support into the PhD graduate school program in biochemistry and pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), to both pursue his dream of higher education, and travel to the United States from 1961-66.

Pat was amazed by, and welcomed, the freedoms he saw in America during this particularly open and exploratory time in the Bay Area and the US in general. He recalled having his first cigarette and first beer in grad school in California, and he also took up several sports, including tennis, badminton and bowling.

After completing his PhD thesis in 1966, Pat started his professional career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington, DC as a post-doctoral fellow. In 1967, he transitioned to the position of research scientist at Pfizer Inc in Northern New Jersey. During that same year, he spent time traveling to Europe and Asia, and also met the love of his life, Shandra Kamath in Cochin, India. Upon their wedding and her arrival in the United States, they purchased their first and only home of 50 years together in Port Reading, NJ where his two sons Jawahar (1968) and Jayakar (1970) were soon welcomed into the world.

Alas, despite the academic pursuits that brought him stateside, Pat answered the pull to leave the hard sciences and try his hand in business, like many of his colleagues at the time. He began a company in 1972 called Hindh Overseas Traders Inc that then became Astro Sales Inc, to bring everyday household appliances, dishware and technology into the homes of families in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and even India. There were admittedly many ups and downs as the founder of a wholesale appliance distributorship, but Pat's relentless dedication and tireless work ethic over 33 years allowed his wife to stay at home as she desired to raise their 2 children, and permitted his kids to excel in school and their many extracurricular activities. Along the way, he also supported the education of 2 of his nieces and nephews in India. Pat was very fond of dining out with his family at seafood restaurants (with the occasional martini) which happened regularly, and the 'up' times also afforded him travel for business and pleasure to Brazil, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Uruguay, Singapore, China, and many of the US states, which he recalled fondly.

After finally selling the family business in 2004, Pat retired at 72. He didn't get to fish in the Atlantic nearly as much as he wanted because of worsening arthritis, but he gained great joy at spending time with his 4 grandchildren, and solving problems with international relations from his sofa chair. Sadly, his wife Shandra of 51 years passed in 2018 in New Jersey, which brought Pat to Malta NY for the remaining 4 years of his life.

Prathviraj is survived by his two sons, Jawahar, a senior semiconductor engineering manager of Mechanicville, NY and Jayakar, an ear-nose-throat surgeon and research scientist in Stanford, CA.

Family and friends are invited to attend a funeral service on Friday June 24, 2022 from 10AM to 12 Noon EST at Oakwood Cemetery, 50 101st St, Troy, NY 12180.

Arrangements are under the direction of the William J. Burke & Sons/ Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Home, 628 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com