Daniel Chelliah

On Sunday, March 18, 2018, Daniel Chelliah of Bowie, MD, unexpectedly passed away in the early morning hours. He is survived by his wife, Annie Chelliah, of Bowie, MD, his son, Santosh Chelliah and wife, Tessie, of College Park, MD, and grandchildren Shayla, Sanjay, and Rania, and his daughter, Shalini Patnaik and husband, Milan, of Nokesville, VA, and grandchildren Noah and Nicholas. Daniel was born on May 21, 1942, in Sholinghur, Tamil Nadu, India. He was the youngest of 8 children. He graduated from Voorhees High School in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, and received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Madurai University. He earned another Master’s degree in Rural Development from the Institute of Social Studies in Den Haag, the Netherlands. His career as an international development consultant and project manager included work with Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (New Delhi, India), the Coptic Church (Cairo, Egypt), the Middle East Council of Churches (Cyprus), the World Bank, the World Council of Churches (Switzerland), the National Council of Churches (USA), Bread for the World (Silver Spring, MD), and Lutheran World Relief (Baltimore, MD). Daniel had lived in Maryland since 1987. Daniel loved reading books, continuing his education about the world and building his personal library up to his very last days. His other passions were playing sitar, listening to music, watching movies, cooking, gardening with his wife, and spending time with his children, grandchildren, and dog, Coco. He was also a member of the Masonic Lodge in Hyattsville, MD. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. In lieu of flowers, charitable donations can be made to ATSWA (Annai Theresa Social Welfare Action Trust) through 4Cs (Children Can Come Closer). For details, please send an e-mail to schelliah78@gmail.com.