Dr. Ranendra DasVarma

Dr. Ranendra “Ron” DasVarma, 89, of Naples, Florida, passed away peacefully on March 19, 2025. Ron was born in 1935 in Patna, India. He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 58 years, Janet (nee Wassity); by his parents, Sachindra and Parirani; and his eight siblings. Ron is survived by three children, Julie (Thomas) Pfeiffer of Coral Gables, FL; Jay DasVarma of Baltimore, MD; and Robby DasVarma of Covington, KY; and two grandchildren, Grant and Amanda Pfeiffer, whom he adored. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

Ron graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Prince of Wales Medical College in Patna, India in 1959, and then immigrated to the United States where he completed his residency at Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Akron City Hospital. He completed a fellowship in Cardiology at Victoria Hospital in Michigan. While at Akron City Hospital, Ron met Janet and they married in 1965. Following his fellowship, they returned to Akron where Ron joined the medical staff at St. Thomas Medical Center in 1972. He served as Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine for the next 20 years. In addition to maintaining his cardiology practice, Ron was instrumental in establishing St. Thomas’ residency program in Internal Medicine. Ron also served as a Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine at the Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine for many years. While Ron received numerous recognitions and awards for his professional accomplishments, his greatest achievement was the compassionate care he afforded to his many patients in the Akron community.

Ron and Janet loved to travel, and eventually settled in Naples, while still maintaining a summer residence in Akron. Following his retirement, Ron worked as a volunteer seeing patients at free clinics in both Akron (Open M) and Naples. He also traveled abroad on two medical mission trips, one to Kenya and one to India. Ron returned to India several times, most recently in 2024 to visit his extended family, whom he loved dearly. Ron was extremely active in his spare time. He was an avid runner and completed the Boston Marathon in 1978. He and Janet played tennis and golf for many years, and Ron would still walk up to 3-4 miles daily until his passing.

A memorial service for Ron will be held in Akron, Ohio at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Open M (www.openm.org) or the American Heart Association (www.heart.org).