Dr. Rajagopal Ryali
Dr. Rajagopal Ryali passed away peacefully on June 11, 2026, with his family surrounding him. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He was a patriarch, a mentor for many, and a source of guidance and wisdom for the younger generation and others in his community who needed him.
He was the second born child in a family of three sons and one daughter. He was very devoted to his siblings even at an early stage in life. As a young bachelor, Dad supported his younger brother’s education through graduate school and his younger sister’s matrimonial proceedings. Dad received a Master of Arts degree in Telugu from the University of Madras in 1959 and lectured at Madras Christian College and Sir Theagaraya College for seven years. Dad arrived in the US as a scholar in 1966 and received his Masters of Arts in Anthropology in 1968 and his PhD in Anthropology from Duke University in 1970. He married a beautiful young lady named Bhargavi in 1970, and they were married for over 55 years. He became a full professor in 1990 at Auburn University of Montgomery and achieved Emeritus status in 2002.
His life included both intentional and unintentional touchpoints with historical events and people. In the late 1950’s, Dad was invited to a scholastic Mock Parliament in India and sat with Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. He encountered racism in Durham – he was not allowed to dine in some restaurants due to his skin color. He spoke of sit-ins at the Chapel in Durham and protests in which he would participate. In 1969, Dad went to the Woodstock Music and Art Fair and enjoyed seeing Janis Joplin perform amongst others. He took graduate classes at University of Michigan and innocently befriended a fellow grad student who accompanied him for groceries. The grad student seemed pretty normal, but he was named Ted Kaczynski – Dad was thoroughly dismayed years later to learn that the grad student became the infamous Unabomber. At the University of Wisconsin as a professor, Dad remembered seeing actor and former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, as a student around campus. In the 80s, he settled in Alabama, declaring that his wife Bhargavi had enough of the cold weather. He traveled to India with his wife often, yet on one trip by himself he had to postpone a flight by a day. The flight he didn’t board was Pan AM flight 103 that crashed over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Dad enjoyed Jeopardy, was an avid mall-walker, and kept up with news events daily by his beloved local NPR station. He loved intellectual debate and enjoyed practicing that in his prime. He loved to dance, and as a guest at innumerable weddings, he always the first on the dance floor doing Bhangra. After talking with his friends and relatives, we hope that Dad is enjoying a cigar and a stiff drink listening to jazz music right now. He is smiling and laughing with his loved ones who preceded him in death.
He is survived by his wife, Bhargavi, and his daughters, Prathima (Randall), Kavitha (Matt), and Madhavi (Christopher); five grandchildren Melody (Patrick), Kristen, Devika, Riya, and Lila; and great-grandchildren Samuel and Leah. He believed in his daughters and granddaughters wholeheartedly and never failed to support and encourage them – his message to them was to leverage hard work and grit to live their best lives. He supported countless friends and family as much as he could throughout his life. His generosity and integrity was evident to his family and his community in Montgomery. He was vision-impaired for much of his adult life, and unfortunately dealt with full blindness and hearing loss at the end. His photographic memory stayed intact until the later years.
Visitation will be on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at 10 a.m. until a family service at 11 a.m. at Charter Funeral Home in Calera, Alabama.