Des Plaines Desi news — 2026-08-09
The greater Des Plaines area paid tribute this year to Gopalan K. Padmanabhan, a Kerala-born electrical engineer whose long life of quiet achievement bridged two continents, while a South Asian motel owner found himself at the center of drama when a historic tornado outbreak swept through the Chicago suburbs.
Remembering Gopalan K. Padmanabhan, Engineer and Community Pillar
Gopalan K. Padmanabhan, 85, of Palatine — just outside Des Plaines — passed away peacefully on February 13, 2026, leaving behind a legacy that stretched from the paddy fields of Kerala to the engineering corridors of Tamil Nadu and ultimately to the northern suburbs of Chicago. Born on January 15, 1941, in the small village of Kallingalpadam in Palakkad, Kerala, he was the eldest of eight siblings and the first in his village to pursue higher studies, earning his electrical engineering degree from Kerala Government Polytechnic in Kozhikode in 1963. Known on campus as a gifted athlete — basketball was his favorite sport — he went on to a distinguished career with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, serving across South Arcot, Panrutti, Villupuram, and eventually Karadivavi in Coimbatore District, where his years as a Junior Engineer at a power substation became the most treasured chapter of his professional life. He later immigrated to the United States, settling in the Palatine-Des Plaines corridor. A funeral service was held on February 22, 2026, at Davenport Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, where family gathered to honor a man who embodied the immigrant generation's tenacity, its reverence for education, and its unshakeable commitment to family across generations and oceans. [4]
🏢 South Asian Motel Owner Among Those Hit Hard by Chicago-Area Tornado Outbreak
When a cluster of tornadoes swept through the Chicago suburbs, the destruction cut across a wide swath of communities — including Des Plaines, where an EF-0 tornado touched down near O'Hare International Airport before tracking southeast through the city. Among the small-business owners bearing the aftermath was Rajan Patel, a South Asian motel owner whose property sustained storm damage. ABC7 Chicago reporter Mark Rivera documented an emotional exchange with Patel in the days following the outbreak, offering a human counterpoint to the aerial footage of downed trees and damaged rooftops. Patel's ordeal reflects the vulnerability faced by immigrant entrepreneurs throughout the Chicago suburbs who operate in the hospitality sector — an industry in which South Asian Americans, particularly those of Gujarati heritage, have built a significant and multigenerational presence. The National Weather Service confirmed at least eleven tornado touchdowns across the Chicago metropolitan area in the same outbreak, including EF-1 events with maximum winds reaching 110 mph in some communities. For business owners like Patel, recovery was never simply a matter of filing insurance claims. It required calling on the networks of fellow South Asian hoteliers, community associations, and local mutual aid that have quietly sustained immigrant entrepreneurship in the northwest suburbs for decades. [5]
Sources: [4] davenportfamily.com · [5] ABC7 Chicago