Dr Lakshman (Lucky) P Weerasooriya MD
It is with immense sadness that I record the passing away of Lakshman (Lucky) Weerasooriya. He lived in Florida, USA. The news was sent to me by Lucky Abey to be published in the Blog.
The new photo was sent by Lucky and replaces the poor quality image which was extracted from a Batch Reunion Group photo taken
in 2007 at Habarana, Sri Lanka.
Lucky belongs to the famous and illustrious Dodanduwe Weerasooriya clan. He was a General Practitioner based in Englewood Florida, USA. He was married to his teenage sweetheart Ruvini and they have 3 sons. The first two, Romesh and Shanaka, are Dentists and the third Viraine is a Paediatric Gastroenterologist. Lucky had a degenerative neurological condition which made him dependent in his last years. He was well cared for by his loving wife and children.
We all join in sending our deepest condolences to his family.
Until he ran into medical problems, Lucky demonstrated his
artistic skills with several high-quality photographs and paintings which were
published in our blog. The last painting appeared in March 2014. Painting
became a hobby after his retirement.
I am posting one of his superb paintings, “A street in Madrid
after rain” as a tribute.
Added on Jan 18th 2022. Picture sent by Indra A
Left to right-
Indra Anandasabapathy,
Devarani Anandasabapathy,
Lucky Weerasooriya and Ruvini,
Thanam Caanthan.
Speedy
I am deeply saddened to hear the bad news about passing away of Lucky Weerasuriya. He was a non assuming product of that famous college by the sea.He was a fair skinned, tall lad who won the hearts of the fair sex.Pity that I never met him since leaving the Medical School.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lucky Abey and Mahen.
ReplyDeleteI too am deeply saddened that Lucky W. is no more.
I had not been in touch with Lucky since shortly after med school days, but a few attempts to check on his welfare during either floods or fire in Florida many years ago failed to get a response. I knew he had sons who would have taken good care of him and Ruvini.
I have fond memories of Lucky W. from my med school days.
Sumathi’s comment that he won the hearts of the fairer sex is an understatement!
What female heart could not miss a beat seeing this lovely figure of a man who had a beautiful soul and integrity to match !
He was lucky we all knew he had a teenage sweetheart from his school years and so he saved himself !
I had the privilege of attending Lucky and Ruvini’s wedding and the beautiful couple they made is still in my memory.
Lucky, as Sumathi wrote, was very unassuming though charming.
One felt at ease speaking with him as his probity was a given.
It was great to see Lucky’s talents as an artist and photographer in his retirement years in the blog.
I think he was also musically talented .
I remember Lucky as a very capable drummer during one block concert when our batch had to give some items.
He was a beautiful soul all round and it is wonderful he spent all his years with his sweetheart of teenage years , and am sure he will reap just rewards and eternal peace that he so deserves .
May God bless and comfort Ruvini and all the family he leaves behind.
Rohini Ananadaraja
Thank you very much Lucky and Mahendra for conveying the sad news. I was woken up at about 6.00 am this morning by Bertram Nana from Rockford Chicago (6.30 pm, local time), to pass on the sad news. He had read it on our Blog spot. Bertram and I used to visit Lucky's house (situated opposite the school by the sea) to do joint studies. I could not attend Lucky's and Ruwini's wedding as it clashed with a family wedding of ours.
ReplyDeleteIn 1988 I was on a family holiday in the US and drove to Lucky's residence located in Placida, Charlotte County in a Hertz car, from the Orlando airport. His back garden extended to the Coral Creek and we went angling in his motor boat. Later I caught some crabs from the Creek, adjoining the back garden and Ruvini prepared a delicious crab curry together with string hoppers. Ruvini's brother is Annesley (A E de Silva), who represented STC in cricket and tennis. In 1959 he opened bowling with the Thomian captain Dennis Ferdinands and bagged four wickets in the first innings of the Big Match; Dennis took five wickets. Lareef Idroos played in the same match and went wicketless.
Lucky's sons were excellent sportsmen in school and Lucky told me that he was known as their father by the town folk.
Several years later when Lucky and Ruwini were holidaying in Colombo, Buddhika and I were invited for dinner at his brother Srilal's official bungalow down Buller's Road; he is an old Thomian and was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army at that time. Another brother Richard was with me in school. Lucky was three years senior to me at RC. His other classmates in our batch were JC Fernando, Bandula Jayasekera, Batuwitage and Balakumar.
When I heard of the passing of Lucky Weerasooriya I was engulfed by a pang of homesickness being deluged by a multitude of memories of long ago. Our surnames being at the opposite ends of the alphabet we were destined to be poles apart but fate had other ideas. At our `block night I was asked to play the bongos for an Afro-Cuban piece of music and Lucky played the piano. There were several dancers and musicians taking part. This event brought us closer together. We met often at the Common Room over a cup of tea. There was a large music centre with a stack of LP’s ranging from classical to Rock’N Roll and some Latin American favourites. Satchi, Lucky and I listened to them in the noise and mayhem of the Common Room.
ReplyDeleteI knew he had connections with both STC and RC, hence had many friends in the batch and also in the faculty. Lucky was a gentle soul always gracious, courteous and charming. I’ve never seen him ruffled or in a foul mood. Although hugely talented he was devoid of ego and remained reserved and ever so modest.
After the great dispersal of June 1967 I remained in Sri Lanka for several years while Lucky, flush from his success went to the USA. He finally settled down in Family Medicine in the sunshine State of Florida. I lost all contact with Lucky until Indra Anandasabapathy put me in contact with Lucky on WhatsApp a couple of years ago. He was then in a plush retirement home. It was so lovely to see him and have a chat. Time and the tide indeed had taken its toll but we managed to recall and reminisce. Perhaps it was the technology that deserted us, subsequently we never managed to get in touch.
We will miss him. I pass on our condolences to Lucky’s family.
May he find Eternal Peace
Rather late but truly sincere, I like to add my voice to yours Nihal, that we have lost another adorable, lovable character from our batch. We can but send our condolences to his dear family and remember instances during our batch life and after for those who were lucky enough to continue to move with him, and we can also remember that whatever we want to do for our friends it has to be in the few months and years left to us. While sending condolences to his family let us remember the special events he was involved in during and after our batch days and let us hope that his family will go through this difficult patch with courage. Our love to his family and may he rest in peace! from Zita
DeleteMahen, thank you for posting the sad news of Lucky W's passing, and giving us a chance to share memories of him. I share everyone's sadness about this event, but I knew that he was in very poor health these last few years. I was able to visit Lucky and Ruvini in Florida about 4 years ago when I was there with my older daughter. She dropped me at Lucky and Ruvini's assisted living apartment and we spent a good part of the day catching up. I had been in intermittent contact with them over the years, because Lucky was part of the group of my batch mates who were in NYC during our residency training. The others included Sunna, Kiththa, Vish, Lareef, Desmond, Yoga and also Russell Paul, who was in Coney Island Hospital for a brief period.
ReplyDeleteLucky's oldest and youngest sons are dentists and the middle son is a pediatrician. They looked after their parents with much love and care, when their health was failing. It was difficult to contact Lucky and Ruvini during the last couple of years because of their health. I conveyed my greetings second hand, through other friends and relatives. Perhaps I didn't try hard enough 😔
I have fond memories of Lucky in Medical College. He was soft spoken and gentle and a very talented pianist. We often took the same bus in the mornings from Mt. Lavinia after my family moved there for a brief period during our 'second MB' days. We were living close to each other during that time. During the infamous (2 week?) period of suspension of the male members of the batch, Lucky and Ananda de Silva came to my home almost everyday to get the lecture notes of the day from me. I hope I didn't lead them astray!
He was a good soul. May he Rest in Peace.
dear Mahen, Lucky et al
ReplyDeleteThank you for informing us of the passing away of one of the finest gentlemen of our year, enabling us to share the grief and condolences.
Rohini Ana's and others tributes have said it all. He was a gentle man and a gentleman; soft-spoken, gracious, humble, and always with smile.
He came from an illustrious background the Weerasooriyas of Dodangoda; I got to know about them from a kinsman who lives in our city. They have distinguished themselves , Down Under too and one is a renowned cardiologist in Perth WA. There is a publication about the clan.
Although a Royalist he had many connections with STC. His parents and family lived adjoining our Small CLub grounds. Lucky's brother Srilal later Army commander and Ambassador was junior to me, but we were fellow prefects; his wife Ruvini was the sister of probably the best left arm spinner STC had within living memory, Annesley De Silva. They were like Lucky outstanding human beings.
Our encounters occurred mainly in the red double decker CTB buses plodding their way from Mt Lavinia to the Eye hospital junction. He and Desmond boarded in MT Lavinia and I and many others including Senarath and Suri got in at Dehiwala. Others including Sriyani (Bunter), Bora Soma Jayaratnam etc joined us on the way. What a jolly crowd we were, chatting and laughing away the terrors that awaited us at the end of the journey.
Sadly we never met after the 'Great Dispersal" of 1967. Thanks to Lucky Mahen and the Blog we were able to keep track of our colleagues.
It was gratifying that he had one of the greatest of all blessings a wonderful family life.
May the Earth Rest Lightly on Lucky.
Kumar, the Weerasooriya's hailed from Dodanduwa and not Dodangoda. I know some of his extended family members, few of whom happen to be related to me. One David Weerasooriya was a Senior Lecturer in our unit at the LRH , in the early 1970s, before I went to London. Later he emigrated to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and practised paediatrics.
ReplyDeleteFew years ago I met him in Freemantle. On of his sons is a cardiologist in Perth.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely correct Sanath. That was the printer's devil and my inexperience with the Android. David W's son is a top cardiac electrophysiologist who was trained in Bordeaux the birthplace of electrical ablation for atrial fibrillation. I referred a couple of patients to him, before they started it in Townsville.
ReplyDeleteWe can be so proud of what our colleagues and their children have achieved.
Kumar
Kumar and Sanatha, I did refer to the Dodanduwe Weerasooriya clan when I edited my initial post to include the better photo and give some more family details. The Dodanduwe clan is very interesting and the interested reader is referred to the following link:- https://en.everybodywiki.com/Weerasooriya_family
ReplyDeleteThe family is referred to as "The Dodanduwa Weerasooriya family is a Sri Lankan family that has its roots in Galle District, Southern Province of Ceylon. The family consists of many members, with a rich recorded history. The family is part of the Karava caste, being traditionally coastal people. They have both Anglican and Theravada Buddhist Traditions.
Hi Everyone, I am very familiar with the Weerasooriya clan because my father's sister married a Weerasooriya (one of Lucky's father's cousins!) There were many interesting characters among that bunch!.
ReplyDeleteWhen I shared the news of Lucky's demise with people who knew him,
Sanath Nallainathan (Lucky's classmate at RC, who was senior to us at Medical College) wrote "He was one of the finest guys I knew- Gentleman."
Mahen, thanks for posting a far better photo of Lucky.
It is always hard to say goodbye. At this stage of my life what surfaces now are the regrets that I never made genuine attempts to maintain contact with those whom I respected beyond measure. Of those, the name that stands out flashing in neon is that of Lucky Weerasooriya. Once I went to Orlando taking the children to Disney and then much later to Fort Lauderdale for some sun and Sangria. On both occasions I never knew Lucky was around the corner from me just on the west coast of Florida.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Srianee and Kumar that Lucky was a gentleman in every sense of the word. In our five years in the faculty I recall the spectrum of feelings from agony to ecstasy and all of the emotions in between. Lucky seemed to take it all in his stride with never a complaint or a show of elation. He had the wonderful ability to shrug his shoulders at things that riled him. Mentally and philosophically, he seemed to be streets ahead of everyone else.
A most remarkable man and a great force for good. I feel so very fortunate that he came into my life at such an important time in my journey.
Nihal, perhaps you should pick up the phone and talk to an old friend. I am sure he/she will be very happy to hear from you. We should try to reduce the ‘regrets.’
ReplyDeleteSrianee
ReplyDeleteSure! that's what I do now - just phone. There are many reasons for not being in contact while bringing up kids, professional commitments and onerous oncall routines. Now is the time to think about what I could have done. Regrets are just a sentiment and I make sure it is not a baggage I carry with me for life. As it is said Even God can't change the past!!!!! He may change the memory of it.
ND, I have tried to contact some of my batch mates and only a few were happy to retain a long term contacts. I know very well that you and Srianee have soft hearts and attempts to retain long term relationships Is is left for the individuals to take a decision to renew or retain the everlasting relationships.
ReplyDeleteSumathi, It is true that not everyone will make the effort to stay in touch. It can be attributed to many many reasons. I'm not sure about my "soft heart" but I know that very often when I reach out to a friend who has been out of touch I do get a positive response. I may be the one who always makes the first move, but it is often worth the trouble.
ReplyDeleteit was very heartening to read all the comments about Lucky W. I didn't know him well at all but I can see that he was very special in many ways. it was my misfortune not to have had the opportunity to get to know him.
ReplyDeleteSrianee, Sumathy and Mahen
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to be in touch on this forum which is dedicated to our batch. A discussion of how we can remain in contact with our friends after the loss of our very dear friend seems so very appropriate.
Ours was a batch of 150 and it was impossible to be close friends with all. I recall a tongue in cheek comment – there are some you meet on a corridor just by chance and become friends for life, there are other you meet on such an occasion and avoid them for the rest of your life. It is an exaggeration to illustrate a point.
We grew up at a time when our culture and the puritanical upbringing prevented the sexes mixing as they do now. The result was that we hardly ever spoke to girls and never became friends. This was made worse by having separate common rooms for girls and boys. I cannot recall having spoken to Srianee, Zita, Rohini Senaratne and so many others. Here we did miss out on making good and lasting friendships.
My being from an all-boy school and not having any sisters did’t help in establishing friendships in the faculty. Getting girls for the Colours Night and Block Nights were a nightmare!! The pleasures of the permissive society had not reached our shores yet.
I recall the vulgar catcalls and wolf-whistles when girls came to the Men’s Common Room. Meeting Zita in London and speaking with her for the first time in 2016 brought home this very point of sexual apartheid of the faculty years.
I have stayed in contact with many of my friends and this remains one of the great pleasures of my life. The mention of my regret was for Lucky Weerasooriya, H.N Wickramasinghe and Sivakumar Vedavanam. I now take comfort from the wonderful memories of the good times we’ve had together.
I have always felt tributes and appreciations of friendships are best done when a person is still alive and able to read what we truly think of them. How wonderful would it have been for Lucky W to read how much respect we have for him. I am so proud and pleased I wrote about JCF and Revo Drahaman.
I am glad that ND has summarised the reasons for not having close relationships, during Medical School days and beyond. Some of us had family commitments and most importantly job hunting I'm an alien environment, especially in UK.
ReplyDeleteNow that we are relaxing in the world of retirement there is time think of our old friends who are lucky to be alive in late seventies and early eighties. Chronic ill health has impeded their inability to communicate via,blog, WhatsApp etc. Ce'la vie!.
Dear Nihal, Sumathi and Mahen, We are all different and when we were thrown together in Medical College, we adjusted at our own pace. Some of us, like Nihal were quiet and shy, and others inclined to be more extroverted. Nihal, you should not be so hard on yourself! And by the way, I am sure I spoke to you now and then in Medical College! Unfortunately, we did not share any study groups together. I grew up in a family with 3 brothers and many male cousins, and therefore I was not intimidated by the male members of the batch. I do remember being a bit taken aback by the abundance of "bloody" and "buggers" being interjected into some conversations! I bet the language is even more colorful now. We all go through phases as you (Nihal and Sumathi) have described. During my early days in the US I was so overwhelmed that I lost touch with many high school and Medical College friends. I am happy to say that I have reconnected with many, and the blog is one of the reasons. Many thanks to Lucky A, now Mahen, and everyone else who keep it going. As you have commented, we have time now and we should make the most of it. Nihal, your tributes to our friends and teachers are much appreciated! You are making up for lost time!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that it was too bad that the men and women had separate common rooms. When I read about the antics in the men's common room I feel quite envious! You had a billiard table, a record player and other perks, all we had in our crowded room was a carom board. It was rather boring and there are no stories to relate!
Dear Srianee and Sumathy
ReplyDeleteWe were indeed an eclectic mix of disparate (not desperate) people some quirky and eccentric others shy and reticent. We all got to know the extroverts. In all we were a good cross section of society at large and a wonderful bunch.
I maintain a website for my old school hence keep in touch with many of my school pals. It is impossible to keep track of everyone.
I caught up with the many Burghers who emigrated to Australia when I was on tour. There were 50 of us at a dinner in Melbourne which was the highlight.
There is something very special about keeping in touch with old friends. Obviously this is not for everyone as we see from the response to the blog, WhatsApp and the reunions. Call it freedom of choice or whatever we must be happy with what we've got.
Nihal, did you meet any chap who used the vulgar term, bugger among the gathering.My dictionary gives other meaning such as a contemptible or pitied person (male), a person with negative quality or characteristics. After all is not only anal intercourse. I am a lot of people thought it meant buggery.
ReplyDeleteThis comment was sent by by Lucky Weerasooriya in 2015 after Lucky A posted some of his paintings and photos, Rather than directing readers to the Blog post, I am reproducing it here. Gives us some insight to his creative instincts.
ReplyDeleteHi Lucky, My computer uses safari so I was unable to reply .This is a reply to ND, Mahendra, and Rita who wrote gracious and encouraging comments.
ND ,Thanks for renewing contact after this many years and for the appreciation of my pics. I have enjoyed your writings very much.
Mahendra , I started painting after retirement in 2002. Our son Viraine gave my wife and me a series of art classes. I did a course in water colors . My wife Ruvini being an advanced artist did a separate course. I started doing portraits off photos and they strangely appeared quite presentable . I used to work late into the night and complete a piece and wake up Ruvini early morning for her comments. My paintings were also surprisingly drawing favorable comments. I had affinity for birds since the early days .Florida is a haven for Bird photography. I did a lot after retirement .During this period I did some wood carving but had to cut it short due wood dust irritating my sinuses I have given you a short description of my Hobbies Additionally I play a few instruments including Piano Violin Piano Accordion etc. Age is taking its toll on how much I do.
Mahen
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post. Lucky is as always modest although the painting is so beautiful and real of a rainy day in Madrid, one of my favourite cities. The photo does bring him back to life and the good times of long ago.
MESSAGE FROM RAVI NADARAJA
ReplyDeletevery sorry to hear about Lucky Weerasooriya passing away. Please convey my condolence to the family. Lucky was a very nice person . Ravi Nadaraja
Hi Ravi
ReplyDeleteIts great to hear from you. Trust all is well. Do try and keep in touch with us on the blog or our batch WhatsApp group.
It seems such a long time ago since we met at the reunion in London in 1992. Take care and stay safe.
POSTING A TOUCHING COMMENT FROM INDRA ANANDASABAPATHY
ReplyDeleteI have known Lucky since medical school days and have been friends all along. Much has been said about Lucky’s good looks but I do not think there can be another kinder, gentler man of such high caliber .
We worked as interns together at Coney Island Hospital, NY and kept in touch and visited each other all through the years. Lucky turned up to help us move when I was a resident. They flew in for our daughters wedding and we were there for their sons weddings,
Over the last fifteen years we spent a lot of time with Ruvini and Lucky in Venice, south west Florida when Rani and I would spend our winters in Sarasota, an hour north from them. They had a wonderful group of friends who were common friends to us as well, Ramya and Jana Mahadeva, Chandran ( three hundred batch in Colombo medical school )and Premanila Ponnambalam, Shanthi and Chandra Bopitiya ( cardiologist - Peradeniya medical school,Doctors Susheila ( Pediatrics )
and Balakrishnan ( pathology ) -both from the Peradeniya medical school
Ruvini kept a beautiful home and garden taking much pride in it and would entertain us all.
We have so many wonderful memories of spending times with them in their home and ours. Lucky took up art as a hobby in his later years and Rani and he would spend much time discussing art. That was after years of Tennis, a few years of Golf and fishing,
Suddenly they decided to move to an assisted living facility in Fort Myers due to their ongoing health problems and leave their beautiful home replete with orchids. This made our drive an hour or more longer We could not meet as often but a few times each year when we drove up to visit them and found that their health was slowly deteriorating.
The last time we visited them was in 2019 we never thought that we would not see him again. We ended up in Sri Lanka and haven’t been back
to Florida since then,
We will miss Lucky immensely but all the happy times we spent with him will be there etched in our memory.
May you rest in peace dear Lucky, heaven will be a better place because of you.
Indra, It is so lovely that you’ve shared your personal experiences with Lucky and posted this fitting tribute to him. I knew him only very briefly but learned what a lovely soul he was quite apart from his good looks. As you’ve said, heaven indeed will be a better place with him.
DeleteMay he rest in eternal peace.
I didn’t realize Rani and you were still in SL. You must miss Arani and Cedric and Co. Keep well and safe!
Mahen, Thank you for posting the photo as well as Indra’s comment.
Thank you Rohini
ReplyDeleteIndra, nice to hear from you. You were a lucky bunch of mature postgrads in Coney Island hospital. I missed the opportunity of emigrating anywhere during the mass exodus. I was one of those patriotic souls. I highly valued your appreciation of the company you had with Lucky and his family. I am sure you are enjoying the warm weather in SriLanka.I am reluctant to travel anywhere owing to underlying health issues.
ReplyDelete