Service Details
A private service was held.
Professor Jayanta B. Deb, a respected botanist, beloved educator, and devoted family patriarch, passed away peacefully on October 10, 2025 (24th Ashwin, 1432 Bengali Yr), in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, USA. He was cremated on 29th Ashwin. He was 79 years old.
Born on March 1, 1946, in Sunil Munshi Bari, British India (now Bangladesh), Mr. Deb lived a life defined by immense intellect, compassion, and an uncompromising will to survive and support family. He was a man of exceptional resilience, living far longer than medical predictions while battling Parkinson’s disease for years. This ferocious fight was driven by an unwavering desire to spend every possible moment with his family, particularly his three cherished grandchildren. A true family man.
Mr. Deb’s life was a profound testament to the transformative power of education, which he valued above all else. Inspired by his father, who had to abandon his own medical studies to support his family, Mr. Deb held a lifelong, unyielding love for learning. His dream of studying in the United States never faded; even in his 70s, he would seriously speak of enrolling to set a record for the eldest Ph.D. student—a perfect example of his enduring scholarly spirit.
After earning his master’s degree from Dhaka University, he began a distinguished career as a Professor at Eden Girl’s College in Dhaka. As a respected researcher at Dhaka University, he advanced the field of Botany, published his findings in prestigious journals, and became a passionate educator whose students came from across Asia and Eurasia. He retired from teaching in 2004.
A man of immense generosity, Mr. Deb sacrificed both his time and financial resources to ensure his siblings received a proper education, allowing them to bring pride to their family through their achievements. Due to his tireless efforts, all his siblings achieved higher degrees. He had a lifelong dream that his son would be the first in the immediate family to achieve a Ph.D., a monumental feat he lived to witness. His family takes great comfort in knowing he successfully completed all the duties he set out for himself in life.
Outside of his scholarly work and family duties, he found great joy in gardening and teaching whenever he had the chance. He also loved traveling, a passion he passed on to the next generations. He had a simple, enduring affection for drinking juice, milk, and yogurt.
Even in his final year, Mr. Deb displayed his characteristic and ferocious will to survive, having recovered from worse medical crises before and successfully defying all odds with a motto of “never give up.” He had wanted to thank Dr. Gullberg for saving his life multiple times from infections but didn’t get the chance this time.
Professor Jayanta B. Deb’s legacy is carried on by his loving wife; his son, the inheritor of his academic dream; his daughter-in-law; his three grandchildren; brother, sisters and nephew & nieces. They will forever be guided by the memory of a brilliant, selfless man whose spirit was defined by knowledge and an unyielding will to live & support for his family.
Please pray for the eternal peace of his soul.
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