Obituary of Shailaja Shankar Hatte

Shailaja (Triveni) Shankar Hatte passed away peacefully on March 3rd, 2025 surrounded by her loving family.

She graduated from Maharani College in Mysore with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Economics. She married Shankar Pandit Hatte in Mysore, Karnataka, but was widowed at a young age. This led her to take a job as a typist in order to raise two daughters on her own during an era when widowed women typically had to rely on others to support them. In 1980, she moved to Canada, and over the years she travelled frequently between India and Canada, enjoying the best weather in each country.

Shailaja loved reading mystery novels, watching suspense thrillers and daytime dramas. Her stamina and strength were unmatched by anyone in the family, and she was known to walk between 4 and 12 km a day, and travelled on her own to India and Australia into her 90s. Her soft and sweet smile hid a sharp wit that she’d use to tease those close to her, and she kept everyone on their toes with her keen observations and admonishments to ‘sit up straight!’. While she didn’t indulge in trends, she took pride in her appearance, always dressing well and keeping herself neat.

She was fiercely independent, and nothing meant more to her than her family. She helped raise her granddaughters and was an influential part of their lives - advocating for their education, and passing down the aforementioned independence (with a streak of stubborness). Her support however, wasn’t limited to just family; she was also known to take people into her home, caring for them when they needed it most. Her strength, perseverance, discipline and grace made her a role model to many.

Shailaja is survived by her brother Swaminathan (Sheila), daughters Shobha (Rajasekhar Belgaumkar) and Sunita (Irshad Jani), granddaughters Madhuri (Svatopluk Babin), Snehal (Timothy Lin), Akhila (Riccardo Graniero) and Seema (Antonios Costopoulos), and great grandchildren Milan, Asha, Alesh, Nitin (and great grand fur-children Flora, Freddie, and Jax).

Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 10th, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Lotus Funeral and Cremation Centre.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Shailaja’s memory may be directed to Dorothy Lea Hospice (https://dlhospice.org/donate/).