Apurva Pravin Varia

Apurva (Apu) Pravin Varia, 50, of Ellicott City, Maryland, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, surrounded by loved ones.                   
Apu was born in Rajkot (Gujarat), India. He grew up in Richardson, Texas and was an avid fan of the Dallas Cowboys. From the very beginning, Apu was always looking to the stars with a dream of going to space. He met the love of his life, Kalpana, on the first day of school at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). After RIT, he worked at NASA as a Mission Operations Director for 21 years. His proudest projects were the Parker Solar Probe, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Interstellar Boundary Explorer. For all of his accomplishments, he was honored with a standing exhibit in the prestigious Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
As an active member of the deaf community, Apu was the President of the Metro South Asian Deaf Association, passionate for fostering connection, awareness and education for deaf people everywhere. He has always been a role model for young scientists interested in space. He flew in zero-gravity twice with Astro Access, fulfilling his lifelong dream of being among the stars.
He will always be remembered for his love of science fiction, his dogs, Bailey and Benji, building things, Star Trek, and Star Wars. He was a wonderful, devoted, and extremely proud father to Dharshan and Shivani.   
A service will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 11:00 AM in the Rich & Thompson Chapel in Graham, North Carolina.
Apu is survived by his beloved wife of 25 years, Kalpana, and children, Dharshan (21) and Shivani (18) and preceded in death by father, Pravin Amritlal Varia. He was the son of Hansa, and beloved brother of Shaina (Romen) Varia, and niece Kashmira and nephew Krish.
Apu was adored by many close family members. Father in law KVK Murthy, mother in law Kamakshi Murthy, sister in law, Mala (M Balakumar), brother in law Dharmesh (Sadhna), and nieces and nephews Arjun (Nirali), Avinash, and Ashwini.
He was adored by all family members, including the extended Varia-Vora and Rangarajan-Shah-Chandrabalan families.               
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to www.msada-dc.org and www.astroaccess.org/donate.
Knowing him, Apu would encourage us all to take a second and look up at the stars, and appreciate how lucky we are to be on this Earth.