Nita Vijaya Esther David

Born in pre-independence India on January 2, 1942, Nita Vijaya Esther David (nee Jesudian) was the middle of the seven children of Frederick Jesudian and Nellie Jesudian (nee Azariah). Nita committed her life to Jesus at the age of thirteen after reading a tract she found lying at home and never wavered in her faith, passing on to Him on May 17, 2024, in Los Alamos, NM.

Nita was born and raised in Bombay (Mumbai), India, surrounded by loving parents and siblings, a host of fun, and deep faith. She attended Queen Mary High School and learned how to play the piano, sing, captain the field hockey team, and have the eyes and heart to see others. She had clear memories of waving flags and singing as a five-year-old in school when India gained its independence in 1947. She later played the piano and organ in church, continuing into her sixties. After graduating from Wilson College with a BA in English Literature, she did what she had sworn she never would – she studied for a bachelor’s in Education and became a teacher. She taught in several schools, one of her most formative experiences being at Wynberg Allen, a boarding school in Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh (northern India). She then returned to Bombay upon her father's ill health. In 1969, she married Flight Lieutenant (later Wing Commander) Prabhakar David, an officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Madras (Chennai). During their 46-year journey together they moved to Bangalore (Bengaluru), New Delhi, Bombay, the UAE, and finally back to Bombay, where they made their most permanent home. This was punctuated by annual trips to her in-laws in Madras and later, her hometown of Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, in southern India.

Nita and Prabhakar had three children and raised them with love and an easy but tough and sensitive discipline. As a military wife, Nita often found herself alone, while her husband traveled, or went off to war. She was brave and tenaciously learned not to back down from adversity or those who sought to take advantage of her family or others, developing the keen sense of justice handed down to her by her parents. All this, but she never conquered her phobia of roaches, Prabhakar would sometimes say, "Nita can face down a lion, but not a cockroach!"

With her children growing, she attained a Master of Education degree as well, all while continuing to teach. She was generous, hospitable, and leaned on the Lord in times of hardship and in times of ease. Professionally, she excelled, rising to become the Vice-Principal and then the Principal of Queen Mary's, her alma mater. She followed her husband to the United Arab Emirates in the early 1990s, teaching at the Arab Unity School, and finally returned to Bombay where she was the founding principal of St.Mary's ICSE School in Navi Mumbai. Elegant, well-dressed, and well-spoken, Nita was an excellent boss – many who worked with her kept in touch with her for decades, right until her last week.

Nita was a dutiful and loving wife and mother. When asked recently what the favorite of her eleven jobs was, she said without batting an eyelid, "Raising my children, and keeping my home." Nita was clean, hygienic, and neat so much so that many in the family called her "Neat-ah". She was also a very good cook, dishing out consistently wonderful food, both complex and simple. She was something of a 'foodie', as described by her youngest child, and frequently enjoyed Indian street food that wasn’t always good for her. In keeping with her love of food, an old joke she repeated with Prabhakar, was that she would be cremated with a chocolate éclair, one of her favorite desserts. Nita's ashes will be laid to rest next to Prabhakar's in Issaquah, WA.

In her later years, Nita counted her blessings in grandchildren - nine of them. She was a formidably picturesque storyteller, shared her life and her and her husband’s family heritage often with her children and grandkids, and always, always proclaimed the Name of Jesus to them, both from Scripture and from experience. After Prabhakar’s passing in 2015, she learned to deal with her grief with a smile and a song (most often a hymn), continuing to host the weekly Bible Study that gathered in their Bombay apartment for years more. In December 2023, after some major surgeries and a downturn in health, Nita moved to be with her children in the US, something they could not thank God enough for. Adventuresome and feisty, but wise, learned, alarmingly funny, kind, startlingly honest, and protective, she was the best mother her children could have ever had.

Nita leaves behind her three children, Elizabeth-Sharon (Cookina) and Jimmy Fung [grandchildren - Philippa, Matthea, and John] of Los Alamos, NM; Andrew (Thambi) and Amber David [grandchildren - Matthew, Isaiah, Zachary, and Grace] of Sammamish, WA; and Timothy and Emily David [grandchildren – James, and Hannah], also of Sammamish, WA. In addition, she leaves behind her siblings Evelyn French in the UK, Gloria and Adidas Jacob in Nagercoil, India, and Eddy and Priscilla Jesudian in Pune, India, sister-in-law Ruma Jesudian, in Vasai, India, as well as a beloved cousin, Saroj Kumar Davis in Nagercoil. Her siblings who went on before her are Major Frank Jesudian, Cynthia V. Briscoe, and Kester Jesudian. She ran the Race strong and well, she loved in deed and in hugs, and she is now at peace, and at the welcome party prepared for her by her Lord.

We thank Dr. Patrick and Tracy Martin, as well as Dr. McClees for their tender and expert care; the Los Alamos Visiting Nurses (Liz, Melissa, Danielle and Kelsy), and Berlinda of Home Instead for their help in her last week. Most of all, we thank the Living God, who gave us our Mamma.

A memorial service is to be held at Crossroads Bible Church, Los Alamos NM at 10 a.m.Mountain Daylight Time (9:30 p.m. IST) on Saturday, June 1, 2024.

Please leave a message, or story, or upload a photograph here (right-hand side: "share memento") for Nita's family. 

Live streaming of the memorial service will be at https://vimeo.com/event/410320 and will be updated under the "Events" tab.