India-born George Korathu, 67, unfazed by prejudice

When George Korathu left east India in 1960, he left a life of leisure, of breakfast in bed, clothes laid out by servants and afternoon tea.

Intrigued by the American ideal of working one's way up, he traded the luxuries afforded by his wealthy family in Kerala, India, for Seattle and the challenge of hard work. But he was met by a different challenge: being a dark-skinned foreigner.

His résumé was thrown in the trash in front of him. He was asked to leave restaurants. And in 1968, three K's were burned into the front lawn of his Queen Anne Hill home.

"The most amazing thing about him was he never grew bitter," said his wife of 40 years, the Rev. Anna Marie Korathu.

Mr. Korathu, of Kenmore, died April 5 from complications after heart-bypass surgery. He was 67. His heart was weak and damaged, so the surgery was deemed very risky. But he was firm in his decision to take the chance, his wife said, because he wanted to have the energy to work in his beloved rose garden and tinker with his cars.

She recalled a time when her husband's boss said he'd like to promote him, but it would be too hard for white men to take supervision from a dark-skinned man. "I was furious," she said, "but he took it so calmly; he said, 'I didn't know they were so insecure; I feel sorry for them.' "

From coming to America alone at age 24 to his recent decision to undergo surgery, "courageous" is the word that best described Mr. Korathu, his friends and family said.

A quiet, earnest man, Mr. Korathu could surprise people with his off-color sense of humor, they said. "Most of his jokes needed to be edited," said his daughter Prithy Korathu of Seattle.

One of his favorite stories, she recalled him telling with a sly grin: "Before my dad came to this country he heard about this great American thing called a hot dog that supposedly everyone ate. So when he got here, one of the first things he did was go get one. When he saw it, he turned to the guy next to him and said, 'Look what part of the dog I got.' "

Mr. Korathu earned a degree in mathematics in India and was just a few credits shy of a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington when he left to take a job at People's Bank.

He worked for nearly 30 years as an information auditor there — it later became U.S. Bank — developing computer programs to detect fraud. He went on to work at Group Health Cooperative, where he helped create programs that checked patient data for errors. He tried retiring, but the idle time didn't suit him, so he went back to work until last year.

Prithy Korathu said she recently gained some insights into her father's work ethic. Once he spoke critically of someone from India who took a well-paying job in the States that he deemed insignificant.

"I was surprised he said that, because he wasn't the type to put someone down, but then he explained that within that job, the person would not be able to hire or help someone else get a job," she said. "He told me that a job should first be a vehicle to help other people, then a paycheck."

As an auditor, Mr. Korathu spent his career focusing on the details. But in life, friends say, he always saw the big picture.

"I learned a lot from him about keeping life in perspective; he never let the ups and downs bother him much," said Craig Elia of Walla Walla, his friend and former colleague at Group Health.

Besides his wife and daughter Prithy, Mr. Korathu is survived by daughter Neethy Korathu-Larson, son-in-law Garrett Larson, grandchildren Priya Korathu-Larson and Rory Korathu-Larson, all of Ashburn, Va.; Prithy's partner, M.J. Kiser of Seattle; and eight brothers and sisters.

Services have been held. Remembrances can be made to St. George's Memorial Garden, 2212 N.E. 125th St., Seattle, WA 98125.

Julia Sommerfeld: 206-464-2708 or jsommerfeld@seattletimes.com