Kamla Hurria

Dr. Kamla Kohli was born in Luknow, India on July 1, 1937.  She was the daughter of Desraj Kohli and Kesridevi Sawney.  She was one of 11 children and she was the second daughter out of 3.  She moved to Ajmer, India when she was a child.  Her dad owned a sporting goods store called Hind Sports. She loved her family very much and had many happy stories of her childhood.  

Exceptionally bright, she skipped second grade.  She attended Government College of Ajmer and found a love for botany that lasted throughout her lifetime.  She went to SMS Medical College in Jaipur, India at the age of 19 with her two best girlfriends.  She loved to learn and read.  She completed an OBGYN residency at Bikaner and afterwards took a job working in Delhi.  At age 27, she met a fellow doctor, while working at the hospital.  She had found her soul mate, Dr. Kesho Hurria.  They fell in love and got married on Sept 8, 1966 in Chandigar.  Kesho says “We were just addicted to each other.”  This was apparent to everyone who knew them as a couple, a marriage that lasted almost sixty years.  Eight weeks later, they moved to Bedford, England and welcomed a son, Ajay in 1967.  They then moved to Omagh, Ireland and then back to Coventry, England.  After 3.5 years in Europe, they moved to Brooklyn, New York.  They welcomed Arti, three months after landing in New York.  Kesho Hurria started an orthopaedic surgery residency and Kamla Hurria did a radiation oncology residency at Downstate Medical Center.  After finishing residency, she had Anju in 1978.  After 9.5 years in New York, they decided to move to California after a trip to Disneyland and realizing the weather was much better.  They moved in 1979.  They opened up a private practice together in Anaheim, CA in 1979.  She practiced as a doctor until age 78.  

She loved medicine and her patients.  You could always find her reading a medical journal article or the newspaper, sitting in the sun with a cup of tea.  We all have memories of the beautiful flowers and fruit trees she planted and of making plum jam with her.  Her cooking of Indian food was divine and she was always making something to feed us.  She loved her family, plants, flowers, cooking, knitting and singing religious songs.  She loved to watch the news and read the newspaper.  

She is survived by her husband, Kesho, her children Ajay and Anju.  She was preceded in death by her daughter, Arti.  She joyfully celebrated the expansion of the family through marriage from Arti to Tom and their daughter Serena and Anju to Adnan and their son Ayan.

We will always miss and love you mom – your fierce love over our family, incredible intelligence and gentle strength.  We were very blessed to grow in your love. We know you are with God.