Obituary of Thottathil Oommen

Dr. Thottathil Varughese (T.V.) Oommen, born August 29, 1934 in Tiruvalla, India, went to be with the Lord on October 30, 2013. He is survived by his wife, Annamma. They were married on May 27, 1963 and celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. He has a daughter, Minnie Buerkle, of Vienna, VA (spouse Don Buerkle) and two sons, Roy Oommen (spouse Ruby Oommen) and Regi Oommen (spouse Lorraine King). Dr. Oommen also had seven grandchildren: Rachel Anne Oommen (age 15); Alex Buerkle (age 11); Rebecca Oommen (age 2, deceased 2004); Zachery Buerkle (age 9); Joshua Oommen (age 7); Colin Oommen (age 7); and Shane Oommen (age 2). He is also survived by his three brothers: Thottathil Varughese (twin), Cherian Varughese, and Kurien Varughese; and four sisters: Kunjoojamma Abraham, Aleyamma Varghese, Sosamma Jacob, and Saramma George. An additional three of Dr. Oommen's siblings died when they were infants.

Dr. Oommen retired from A.B.B. in Raleigh, NC as an Advanced Materials Engineer/Advisory Scientist in 2000, where he conducted experiments on improving the efficiency of electrical transformers. At A.B.B., Dr. Oommen earned several patents, including the use of sunflower oil in electrical transformers. Prior to moving to Raleigh, he worked at A.B.B. in Sharon, PA and for Westinghouse in Sharon, PA. Dr. Oommen started his professional career for Westinghouse in Muncie, Indiana in 1977. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1971 from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA), and received post-doctoral degrees at the University of Washington and Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, IL). Prior to getting his Ph.D., Dr. Oommen was a school teacher in Kerala, India and Ghana, Africa.

Dr. Oommen's two great passions were travel and Biblical archaeology. Often, he would combine both passions by taking trips with his wife to Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Jordan in quests to understand the Bible. He was an avid reader and book collector.

A Funeral Service will be held 10:00 a.m., Monday, November 4, 2013 at Montlawn Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow at Montlawn Memorial Park.

The Oommen Family will receive friends 6-8 p.m., Sunday, November 3, 2013 at Montlawn Funeral Home.

Arrangements are made by Montlawn Funeral Home, 2911 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC. Condolences can be made at www. Montlawn.com