Kanda Aran

Kanda Aran, 74, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, passed Tuesday, October 28, 2014 after a long illness. He is survived by his wife of thirty-two years, Valli Aran; his children Elliot J. Byrnes, Timothy L. Byrnes, Devaraj Aran, Vani S. Aran, Tara S. (Aran) Kunkel, and Chandi U. Aran; his siblings Lois Schmidt, Graham Byrnes, and Kathleen Skidds; his granddaughter Jaymie Byrnes and great-grandson Peyton; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Thomas F. Byrnes and Esther J. Byrnes, and brother Robert Byrnes. Kanda was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Esther and Thomas Byrnes. His family moved to Hales Corners, Wisconsin when he was young child. He attended Hales Corners Grade School, Greendale High School, and the University of Wisconsin. In school, Kanda enjoyed playing baseball and golf and helped coach summer baseball for younger children. As a young man, Kanda worked at Cutler-Hammer in Milwaukee. He was introduced to computer programming at IBM when his office bought their first computer in the early 1960s. This initiated his life-long career as a computer programmer and systems analyst, with a specialty in production and inventory control. He lived and worked in places such as Seattle and San Francisco and for companies such as IBM, Apple, Levi Strauss, and many others. Kanda traveled around the world spending time in cities from Paris to Leningrad, Tokyo to Tehran. India, however, was his greatest love, and he traveled there several times throughout the '70s and '80s with Guru Deva, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, and other devotees, including a trip with his son Elliot. In the early 1970s, Kanda adopted Hinduism, becoming a member of the Saiva Siddhanta Church. He was very devoted to his faith and an active member of the Hindu community in San Francisco. Kanda continued to practice Hinduism for the remainder of his life. Kanda met his wife Valli in 1980 in San Francisco; they were married on November 8, 1982. Their four children, Devaraj, Vani, Tara, and Chandi, were born in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Aran family lived in California for eleven years before moving to New Mexico in 1993, living in Tomé and later Albuquerque, where Kanda retired. Kanda remained active after retirement, appearing as a movie extra in several main stream movies that were filmed in the Albuquerque area. Kanda was a gentle, loving, kind individual who enjoyed spending time with family and friends. He showed his dedication and commitment to his family through hard career work that made it possible for his wife to home-school their four children. The family enjoyed many activities and vacations together. Kanda especially enjoyed hiking, camping, wood-cutting, gardening, playing with the family pets, and playing baseball and basketball with his children. Kanda loved nature, animals, and life; he will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him. A private family memorial was held for Kanda. In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family asks that donations be given to these following charities that Kanda supported throughout his life: • Amnesty International, http://www.amnesty.org/en/donate • Southern Poverty Law Center, https://donate.splcenter.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=463 • Animal Humane New Mexico, https://animalhumanenm.org/pets/help/donate/online/gift.php

Kanda Aran

October 9, 1940 - October 28, 2014