Betty Lou Mukerji Obituary

Mrs. Betty Lou Mukerji, age 90, passed away peacefully at home in the company of her family at Napa, California on October 11, 2020. Born at the start of the Great Depression in Buffalo, New York, she married Sasanka Mukerji, M.D., FRCS, a prominent eye, ear, nose and throat specialist from India, and traveled across the United States to settle in Napa in the early 50’s. They had two daughters, Elizabeth, a fine artist, and Victoria, a cultural anthropologist and educator.

Betty was a true Renaissance woman, with a tremendous energy, a wide spectrum of talents, interests and vision. Her courage and fortitude in a much less accessible world than today is her greatest legacy to her children. An intrepid traveler, she explored the world with her young family when such travel was still unusual—Europe, Scandinavia, South Asia, the Far East and the Middle East starting in 1960 with a transatlantic journey on the Queen Elizabeth ocean liner to London. She saw the Great Pyramids on camel back with a one-year old in her lap, toured the Louvre and the Vatican before they put up barriers, stayed in Frank Lloyd Wright’s New Japan Hotel before it was torn down and celebrated Christmas in Bethlehem on the eve of the 6-day War. She was much beloved by her Indian in-laws and learned the customs of her husband’s culture with charming alacrity and openness. She continued to travel extensively—from safaris in north Indian tiger preserves to cruising the Norwegian Fjords-- almost to the end.

Having studied Home Economics at Cobbleskill SUNY before marriage, at the age of 38 Betty Lou went back to finish a degree in Cultural Anthropology at Sonoma State University. She participated in Native American archeological digs and wrote a thesis on primate behavior based on observation fieldwork among sooty mangabeys at UC Davis. Later her interests centered on folklore. She is the author of a seminal book on Chinese Sewing baskets in early 20th Century American.

Betty and her husband Sasanka were part of the vibrant SF culture of the 60’s, sponsoring Indian musical events at their home, contributing to the Asian arts and philosophy scene and hosting many prominent personalities of the time, from Ali Akbar Khan to Allen Ginsberg. They were also great world cinema enthusiasts and active in the early SF international Film Festival.

Locally, Betty will be remembered as an avid activist for the arts, a seasoned grapegrower (owner and CEO of Toribeth Vineyards since 1958) and a passionate advocate for the elderly. Her capacity to multi-task was staggering; her realms of expertise truly awe inspiring.

After her husband’s death in 2012, Betty remained active in her vineyards, her garden and olive grove, her research pursuits and her advocacy for the elderly until the last year of her life when she spent more time with her daughter Elizabeth and her parner, Rick Harrig, in Umpqua, Oregon. She returned to Napa recently and passed away peacefully in the place she loved best.

Betty Lou is survived by her children Elizabeth Mukerji, Victoria Mukerji Chowgule (wife of J.Y. Chowgule of Goa, India): her grandchildren Joanna Nelson, Sergio Ceriani (husband of Misti of Sioux City, Iowa) , and Julian Mukerji-Gorsia; great grandchildren, Brooke and Madison Ceriani and Noah Nelson, and many friends and relatives here and in India whose lives were enriched by her presence.

Due to Covd-19, no funeral will be held but the family asks the community to cherish your memories of our remarkable mother and remember her on her final journey.