Obituary

Chandramatte Santram, 84, of Orange, MA, died on Monday, September 23rd at home, surrounded by love. She leaves her eight children: Seepersaud Goordial of Worcester, Nalini Goordial of Orange, Vado and his wife, Robin Santram of Worcester, Shivanie and her husband, Edward Staples of Promfret, CT, Khristram Santram of Worcester, Avaram and his wife, Ranushma Santram of Worcester, Melizza and her husband, Craig Chernov of Hardwick and Michelle Persaud of Long Island, NY; four brothers: Jack Persaud, Balwant Persaud, Devo Persaud, and Robbie Persaud; three sisters: Devika Persaud, Vrinda Narain and Bhanmattie Sewsankar; her sisters-in-law: Kama Persaud and Pam Harris; nine grandchildren: Fred, Monita, Nate, Josh, Jake, Nick, Victoria, Eli and Logan; eleven great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her husband of 59 years, Basil Santram; two brothers: Nedhan Persaud and Amar Persaud; and one sister: Mintranie Persaud.
She was born in Guyana to Harry and Rayotee (Maraj) Persaud. Throughout her life, she embraced various roles, but none were more valued by her than her role as a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister and daughter. While she had a deep passion for sewing and cooking, and she found joy in nurturing her flower garden, family meant everything to her.
It was that love of family that gave her the bravery to leave her country-of-origin, Guyana, in 1972 and move to the United States of America. She was eight months pregnant at the time and left everything she knew behind, believing that she would make a better life for her children.
However, moving to the ‘States’ did not just help her children. Chandramatte, along with her husband Basil, helped countless family members to come to this country. She provided a space in her home for those new to the country and supported them in countless ways as they began to build productive lives here. She was an unfailingly generous person helping people by supporting them during financial hardship and times of grief. Giving to others brought her sincere pleasure.
Of all the things she took pleasure in, nothing compared to the time she spent with her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, laughing, cooking, watching her favorite game shows on tv, and dancing. She nurtured her family the way she tended her garden, giving them space to grow, but always there to guide and support them when needed. Her warmth and dedication left a lasting impact on those around her.
Chandramatte was a devoted Hindu and took great solace in her religion. Here is a line from the Bhagavad Gita: “It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.”
The calling hour will be on Saturday, September 28th from 9:00am until 10:00am in O’CONNOR BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME, 592 Park Avenue. A funeral service will begin at 10:00am in the funeral home. Cremation will follow in Rural Crematory, 180 Grove Street. In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations in Chandramatte’s name to be made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation by going to https://wish.org/.

Directions to Funeral Home