Dr. Anup K Das, 73, of Burlington, Iowa died Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in West Burlington.
Born April 28, 1950, in Balasore, Orissa, India, Dr. Das was the third child of Manimala Das & Asit Ranjan Das. As his father Asit worked for the railways, Dr. Das and his siblings grew up in multiple towns across eastern and central India. After graduating from SCB Medical College in Cuttack, Orissa, Dr. Das went to work at Willingdon Hospital in New Delhi, India. It was while working as a young physician in the nation’s capital he met Kalpana Kanungo, of Bridgeport, Conn., who had returned to the country of her youth to attend college. They met in October 1975, and a whirlwind three months later were married, on Jan. 16, 1976, in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Dr. Das was twenty-five and Kalpana nineteen; in January of this year, they celebrated 47 years of love, marriage, and best friendship.
After waiting for their first child to be born in India, Dr. Das, his bride and 3-month-old newborn Sonny, immigrated/returned to the U.S., in December 1976. He completed his Hematology fellowship at New York Medical College in 1984, and his fellowship in Medical Oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1986. While at Roswell, Dr. Das was a clinical instructor at the University of Buffalo and cared for veterans at the VA Medical Center in Buffalo. It was also while in western N.Y. that his love for the Buffalo Bills, and his second son Ranjan was born, August 1985.
He was Board Certified in 3 branches of medicine: Medical Oncology, Hematology, and Internal Medicine. Additionally, he was a member of American Board of Medicine (ABIM), and American Society Clinical Oncology (ASCO ).
Alongside his wife, Dr. Das owned and operated his own clinic, Putnam Hematology & Oncology, in the northern suburbs of New York City (Carmel, N.Y.) for over 20 years. After a sojourn in West Virginia, he arrived in Burlington to work for Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in February 2023. He and Kalpana quickly fell in love with the hospital, the community, and all the extraordinarily kind, generous, and welcoming people who make it up. He also discovered Jerry’s Main Lunch, and couldn’t get enough of the revelation that is the Corned Beef Hash Mess.
Dr. Das had a rare and abiding passion for teaching; finding real invigoration and joy being surrounded by students, residents, and colleagues young and seasoned alike. He was a passionate golfer and to call him a voracious reader of mysteries, sci-fi and fantasy, histories, classics, and Jane Austen would be a criminal understatement. His favorite novels included Pride & Prejudice, The Hobbit, Silence of the Lambs, and The Godfather; each of which he had read at least one hundred times (no joke.) Dr. Das loved all forms of art (EXCEPT for contemporary conceptual and abstract expressionism!) and art history, listening to old Hindi music (preferably from the golden age of Hindi cinema) and cartooning/drawing, especially while teaching. He was a gifted curator and enjoyed cataloging all sorts of different things.
Dr. Das also enjoyed sports from a young age, playing cricket and soccer in high school, and later in life he loved watching the Buffalo Bills. He collected many incarnations of red barns, and trains and was an enthusiastic PHILLUMENIST (look it up!) Above all, Dr. Das will be remembered as a gifted storyteller and a beloved physician who cared deeply and uniquely empathetically for his patients and their families.
Survivors include his beautiful wife of 47 years, Kalpana (Kanungo) Das of Burlington; two sons, Sandeep "Sonny" Das of Chicago, Ill. and Ranjan "Ronny" Das of Brooklyn, N.Y.; four brothers, Anjan Kumar Das, Aburba Kumar Das, Asim Kumar Das, and wife Shikha, Alok Kumar Das and wife Renu; sister, Ruplekha "Pinky" Khullar, and husband Sunil; brother-in-law, Nihar Kanungo and wife Gloria; sister-in-law, Anjana"Anjie" Klimeck and husband John; cousin-brother, Pradeep Das and wife Silpi; and too many loving nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and nephews to safely enumerate here! No grandkids though, much to his enduring chagrin…
He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Vijayalakshmi Das, mother & father-in-law, Annapurna (Das) and Kalpataru Kanungo, and two sisters-in-law, Basantamengeri Das and Sanjukta Das.
Visitation will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, at Prugh Funeral Service, 3940 Division Street. The family invites friends to share their memories and experiences of Dr. Das beginning at 4:30 p.m.
A Spiritual Ceremony will be held for Dr. Das following the time of sharing on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, at Prugh Funeral Service, 3940 Division Street. The Spiritual Ceremony will conclude at 6:30 p.m.
A time of food and fellowship will be held at Martini's Grille, 610 North 4th Street, 4th floor, following the Spiritual Ceremony.
To honor Dr. Das in lieu of flowers, his family requests donations be made to the Great River Health Foundation's Hematology/Oncology Fund for the benefit of the patients. This would be a great way to honor his lifelong mission.
Donations may be mailed to 1221 S. Gear Ave Suite 100, West Burlington, IA 52655.
Prugh Funeral Service is in care of the arrangements.