Dr. Madura Janakiram Rangaraj

Dr. Madura Janakiram Rangaraj (affectionately known by friends and family as “Ranga”) passed away Thursday evening, November 13, 2014, at the age of 63. A celebration of life service honoring Dr. Rangaraj is scheduled for 2:00 pm Sunday, November 16, at Mulhearn Funeral Home on 165N in Monroe, Louisiana. Visitation will be held from noon until 2:00pm prior to the memorial service. Ranga was a physician, a gardener, and in recent years a newly minted golfer. Above all, Ranga had a deep affection for his family and his friends. He was devoted to both, and spent countless hours enjoying their company. Always strong and of good cheer, Ranga was an invaluable member of the northeast Louisiana community who will be missed by many. He, together with his wife, Uma, volunteered their time, their talents, and their home for various charitable causes. Ranga will be remembered for his kind soul --- a gentleman always willing to help out and offer advice, and all of that preferably over a glass of 12 year-old Glenlivet. Ranga was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu, on December 8, 1950, as the second son of four children to MS Janakiram and S Visalam. He grew up in Pondicherry, a French province within the state of Tamil Nadu, and was an avid track and field and cricket athlete, and received his medical degree at Madras Medical College. He then moved to the United States in 1975 to New York, beginning his medical career as a resident at Brooklyn Jewish Hospital. Following that, he moved to Connecticut to continue his education as a Fellow of Rheumatology at the University of Connecticut. In 1982 Ranga moved his family to Monroe, Louisiana, and joined Dr. John Hull in an established medical practice here as a rheumatologist. In 1986, he co-founded the Arthritis Clinic and Lab. In subsequent years, his clinic expanded to include Dr. Leary’s group of oncologists. Still later, he established the Arthritis and Diabetes Clinic and Lab when his wife joined the practice. He has served on the Board of Directors at North Monroe Hospital and as President of the Heritage of India Foundation. Ranga was a devoted and loving husband to his wife of 39 years, Uma; a proud and caring father to his older son, Rohan; his daughter, Asha; his younger son, Arie; his daughter-in-law Soumya; and a most excited and loving grandfather to his first grandchild, granddaughter Ilina. He was also devoted to his Monroe “honorary grandchildren” Anisha, Rahul and Jaya Lal. He is also survived by his brothers, MJ Subramaniam and MJ Sundaram in Bangalore India. Ranga was preceded in death by his parents, MS Janakiram and S Visalam, and his sister Gowri Krishna, of Sydney,The family requests that in lieu of flowers, any memorials be made to The Wellspring of Monroe, LA.Online Registry/Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.comMulhearn Funeral HomeSterlington RoadMonroe, LA