City Council Meeting March 29, 2017
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Philip T. Kaiayil, one of the pioneers of the Indian American community died Monday, March 13, 2017 at the age of 86 years old. He was surrounded by his loving wife of 67 years, Annamma, his two sons Tom and Sales, son-in-law to his late daughter Lisa, Tom, daughter Ann along with their spouses and his grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, Philip's journey of achieving the American dream started when he left the shores of Kerala, India by ship in January 1956. After weeks of delays due to mishaps and multiple port stops, he finally arrived to Chicago in March of 1956. By traveling to America, it meant leaving behind two young sons and his young wife pregnant with their third child-a daughter. But Philip believed in Mahatma Gandhi's words that "the future depends of what we do in the present". In order to build a better future, he had to make the sacrifice; and
WHEREAS, After completing his graduate degree in Sociology, Philip's passion to help people allowed him to pursue a career in social work that began with Catholic Charities. Over the years, his hard work and dedication for serving the less fortunate caught the attention of many including the City of Chicago's Department of Human Services. Philip proudly served the residents of Chicago as the Assistant Director of Emergency Services until his retirement in 1992; and
WHEREAS, Though he came to the United States to pursue graduate work at Loyola University, Philip soon became involved in leadership activities at the Crossroads International Center organizing activities for international students. He also spent many volunteer hours building institutions in the India American community. In the early 1970's, Philip was one of the founders of Asian Forum, a pan-Asian organization that looked at strengthening the Asian American coalition of Chicago. Philip's work with Asian Forum's vision led to the birth of many of today's Asian American and South Asian American c...
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