Jagdish ("J.C.") Rewari

Jagdish Chandra (“J.C.”) Rewari, 85, passed away at his home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, on May 13, 2025. He will be forever remembered for his unwavering devotion to his beloved family, his brilliant intellect, and his dazzling smile.Jagdish was the younger of two sons born to Kanhayalal and Karamdevi Rewari in pre-Partition India. His family was uprooted from their ancestral home when the Punjab region was divided into two countries in 1947. Jagdish spent the rest of his childhood living in various cities and towns in India, moving frequently because of his father’s work on the railway system.A self-described “shy child,” Jagdish soon distinguished himself as an excellent student and a star athlete. After completing high school in Aloka, Jagdish studied at the Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering at Nagpur University. He played on his college’s football (a.k.a. soccer) and hockey teams. He was an avid weightlifter and gymnast. An accomplished swimmer, he was lauded as a young man and given an award for his heroic rescue of a drowning victim.

He also performed in theatrical productions every year, and although drama was his true passion, a career in engineering held more promise and prestige in post-colonial India. Jagdish graduated second in the order of merit amongst all candidates for the Bachelor of Engineering in 1964. He furthered his studies with a Master’s degree in Business Management from the Xavier Institute of Management in Jamshedpur.Jagdish was introduced to his wife, Sudesh, by their parents, and it just “clicked.” They were married in December 1969, in Agra. Within four years, they had become parents to three daughters. Having no sisters and not having grown up with any female cousins, Jagdish felt the responsibility of raising three girls very keenly. He dedicated himself to providing for his family and building a prosperous future for his children.Jagdish started his professional career with Tata Iron and Steel Company, in Jamshedpur. He was presented early on with an opportunity to work in the United States, but his parents implored him to stay and he gave in. He joined Almora Magnisite, Ltd. in 1971, as a resident engineer and was soon promoted to the project manager. Jagdish’s “ability, initiative, ingenuity, and resourcefulness” was credited by his superiors for the successful launch of a new magnesite plant in a “difficult, uninhabited and remote hilly terrain that was devoid of infrastructure and industrial atmosphere.” From there, Jagdish joined Engineering Projects (I), Ltd., where he spent six years in the marketing, design, construction, and implementation of plant projects throughout India and had opportunities to travel to the United States.In January 1981, Jagdish joined Bechtel Corporation, as a mechanical engineer at the San-on-Ofre Nuclear Generating Station, in San Clemente, California. Apprehensive about immigrating to a country where they had no other family, Sudesh agreed that she and their three daughters would go to the U.S. for a three-month “trial period.” Three months soon became six, then nine. When Jagdish accepted a transfer to the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona in late 1981, the move to the United States began to seem permanent. In Phoenix, the family was pleasantly surprised to find a very large and vibrant community of Indian immigrants with young families, including many other engineers. It was also in Phoenix that Jagdish and Sudesh welcomed the birth of their fourth child, a son.In summer 1986, Jagdish was transferred again, to a new project at the Limerick Nuclear Generating Station, near Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Here, Jagdish and Sudesh finally and permanently replanted the family’s roots. Even as Jagdish’s work took him all over the country in the ensuing years—including projects in Browns Ferry, Alabama; Frederick, Maryland; Oswego, New York; Port St. Lucie, Florida; Richland, Washington; and Spring City, Tennessee —Pottstown always remained his home. Even as he considered retirement, the demand for his specialized knowledge, skills and experience only escalated with the rising market for alternative energy. He was recruited to work on one of the most challenging environmental projects in U.S. history; a Department of Energy mission to transform the 50+ million gallons of underground radioactive chemical waste byproducts from the Manhattan Project, World War II and Cold War eras. He received accolades for his technical expertise in the launch of Watts Bar Unit 2, the first new nuclear plant to be brought online this century. Even after five decades, his enthusiasm for and pride in his work had not wavered.When Jagdish finally retired in 2015, he and Sudesh decided that they would stay in Pottstown, treasuring the close-knit community of friends that they had built over the years. In retirement, Jagdish rediscovered his love of swimming, took up yoga, and reconnected with old friends all over the country. He believed in continual self-improvement and enthusiastically embraced every opportunity to expand his horizons. He was fond of capturing memories on film, and famously pestered his camera-shy children for photos and FaceTime calls. His greatest happiness was spending time with his wife, their children and grandchildren, and keeping in close contact with his extended family, especially his three nephews from Khandwa and their families.Jagdish was preceded in death by his parents, Kanhayalal and Karamdevi, as well as his brother, Shyamlal. He is survived by his wife, Sudesh, their three daughters, Reena and her husband Rajeev Prabhakar in Media, Pennsylvania; Mona and her husband Mahesh Parameswaran in Oakton, Virginia; Sona and her husband Shannon Barrett in McLean, Virginia; their son, Ajay in Philadelphia, and four grandchildren, Meghna, Jatin, Neha, and Sawyer.A “Celebration of Life and Memorial Service” will be held at noon on Sunday, May 25, 2025, at the Hari Om Mandir, 348 Boot Road, Downingtown, Pennsylvania.