Jaya Kandyil

In Loving Memory of Jayalakshmi Puthiyottil Kandyil
Beloved Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Sister, Nurse, and Friend
December 30, 1947 - June 2, 2025

It is with deep sorrow and immense love that we announce the passing of our beloved Jayalakshmi Puthiyottil Kandyil. She was mostly known as Jaya. Jaya was a proud Malayalee woman whose vibrant, strong spirit and boundless love touched everyone she met. She passed away peacefully at the age of seventy-seven on Monday June 2nd, surrounded by family, friends, love and peace to be with her adored son Jaideep and her husband Damodaran.

Born and raised in Kozhikode, Kerala in India, Jaya shared happy memories of her childhood, including eating sweet treats at her father's shop, laughing, joking, and spending time with her brother, sisters and many nephews and nieces, including Premraj, Prakash, Suresh, Geeta and Girish. In 1980, Damodaran and Jaya decided to take his older brother Achuthan's invitation to embark on a great adventure in the United States to provide a better future for their children. Jaya came to the United States at the age of thirty with courage, and a heart full of hopes and dreams. She pursued nursing and became a Registered Nurse, devoting over 35 years to the profession. Her work was not just a job. She cared deeply for her patients, often offering not only skilled care but a comforting word, a listening ear, or a laugh in times of need. She had a strong work ethic. She worked tirelessly, day and night for her family and was extremely ambitious. She had high expectations for her children and inspired Jaideep to become a computer science engineer and Roshni to become a doctor. She was the backbone of her family.

Jaya was a devoted wife to her late husband Damodaran for 57 years, and a loving mother to her beloved and only son Jaideep, whom she adored and tragically lost in 2020. She carried their memories with her every day. She found it extremely difficult to go on without her son, but she found the strength every day to go on, wondering why she was still here. She lived her life with the same fierce love, loyalty, and resilience that defined her relationships.

Jaya was traditional and proud of her heritage. She was deeply religious, went to temple frequently and was a prayer warrior, holding many Pujas for her loved ones. She was so beautiful and loved to dress up and wear sarees, and traditional Malayalee gold jewelry, look her best and go with Damodaran to various functions held by the Kerala Association of Dallas. She loved Bharatanatyam and other classical Indian dance forms and played the sitar. She liked to sew, take lots of photos, and had a deep appreciation for Malayalam movies and shows-especially comedies that made her laugh out loud. Mammootty was one of her favorites! Her quick wit, sass, and sharp tongue were legendary-she never held back her feelings, but she also never held a grudge. She could scold you in one breath and feed you in the next, and her friends and family loved her even more for it.

She had an extraordinary gift for bringing people together. She loved to cook and entertain, and her home was always filled with the comforting aromas of traditional Kerala dishes. No guest ever left hungry-she delighted in preparing full Malayalee spreads, hosting with generosity, warmth, and pride. Whether it was Onam, a family visit, or a spontaneous chai with friends, she welcomed everyone with open arms and a table full of food.

Most of all, Jaya loved people and was very social, always chatting up a storm with someone. She was the heart of every gathering and quite the character-talkative, cheerful, full of stories and lots of opinions. She hated being alone and thrived in the company of others, always with something to say, a memory to share, or a joke to crack. She lived in Dallas for over 40 years and made many friends along the way. Her friendships-numerous and deep-spanned decades and continents.

She was preceded in death by her Father and Mother, Chekutty and Kalyani Puthiyottil, her husband Damodaran Moosari Kandyil, her only and precious son Jaideep Rajesh Kandyil, her brother BalaKrishnan and her sisters Shantha and Vasantha.

Jaya leaves behind her loving family, including her only daughter Roshni Kandyil Foster, son in law Samuel Foster, daughter in law Bindu Kandyil and grandchildren Kanna Kandyil, Thomas Foster, Grace Foster, and Jaanu Kandyil. She also leaves behind her brother and sister in law Achuthan and Sumitra Kandyil, her nephews and niece Ranjit Kandyil, Ranjini Ledbetter, and Rajiv Kandyil all of whom she loved very much, as well as her family friends Ajit, Ajitha, Adithi and Ashish Govindan whom she loved and visited with as often as she could and her great niece Jasna Sasidharan, who was more of a grandchild to her. She leaves behind her relatives in India that she missed and loved so much, her sister Girija, her brothers and sisters in law Sreedharan and Premila, Krishnan and Prasanna, her nephews Vijayaraj, Jayaprakash, Premraj, Prakash, Suresh, Girish, Binu, Biju and Siljith, and her nieces Jayasree, Rajasree, Geeta, Anitha, Lasitha, Sajitha, Asha, Deepa, Biji and Shiji . She leaves behind her dear friends, and the many people she comforted, healed, and inspired throughout her life.

Though our hearts are heavy, we are grateful for the years we had with her and the love she gave so freely. Jaya's kindness, strength, and unwavering love touched so many lives, and she will be missed more than words can express.