Adventurer, teacher, optimist

Amma to her children, Mrs. Joseph to her students and Saratha to her friends, Sarathadevi Joseph (nee Iyakuddy) was a fearless adventurer whose life was defined by her faith.

Born on Sept. 20, 1944, in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, she was the fifth of 10 children.

A Hindu by birth, she converted into Catholicism as a teenager and truly lived by the values of her new faith, such as compassion and service to others.

She settled in Winnipeg in 1986 after stints in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the U.K.

Saratha died on Nov. 14, 2025, leaving behind a legacy as vast as the world she once travelled.

She is survived by her husband Elian Joseph, daughter Sareli DeRaj and son-in-law Ameen, son Dileepan Joseph and daughter-in-law Ana, six grandchildren, a host of nephews and nieces as well as countless others all over the world whose lives she changed.

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Friends and family, acquaintances and colleagues alike describe the retired teacher as a passionate advocate and powerful community builder who led by example.

Her home became a refuge for countless newcomer families who lived with her, sometimes for months on end, while they familiarised themselves with life in Canada.

“There were always people in our house. If you needed a place to stay she’d offer a room, if she knew you loved eating something, she would cook it for you, if you were sick she would get a doctor to come see you. She was great to have as a role model because she was a problem-solver — she didn’t let anything get in her way,” daughter DeRaj says.

Niece Sharmane De Zilva moved to Winnipeg from Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2008 with her young family. They lived with Saratha in the first six months of their arrival.

De Zilva says she would have found it difficult to settle here without Saratha’s help and guidance.

“Moving to a new country was a huge change. We had to learn so much — it was such a big challenge, doing things as simple as grocery shopping, finding a family doctor and enrolling our children in school. She helped us navigate all that. That made such a big difference for us,” she says.

A catalyst for change, Saratha inspired others around her to be of service to those in need. Her kindness wasn’t just confined to family.

Poorany William first met Saratha at an event organised by the Tamil Cultural Society of Manitoba (TCSM). William had just moved to Winnipeg from Toronto and the duo became firm friends.

“Saratha was a fabulous friend, you could talk about anything to her,” William says. “We just clicked immediately. It is a rare blessing to get someone like her in your life.”

Saratha was on the TCSM board, and served as its president from 2009 to 2011.

“As president she would always make sure to plan activities for the youth, not just for adults. All the kids loved her, I loved her so much. I learned so much from her and I will honour her in any way I can.”

At St. Mary’s Academy, where she taught science for 19 years, Saratha is remembered as a natural mentor and dedicated teacher who was passionate about her work.

“There was something that drew me to her. If I was in a room I would move towards her, because she had an aura of safety around her. She was safe,” says Michelle Klus, a former colleague and current president of St. Mary’s Academy.

She was beloved by her students, who saw her as more than just their teacher, and would regale them with stories of her life and experiences living and working in different parts of the world.

“She was incredibly intelligent and expected lot from her students,” Klus says. “She was able to teach kids with different abilities. She could command their attention and keep them engaged. The kids loved her. They knew her face because she lived her face and they embraced that. There were no masks — she was incredibly genuine.”

In November 2025, the Saratha Joseph Bursary Fund was established at St. Mary’s Academy to continue her values of compassion, opportunity and care for others.

“This is a worthy legacy to celebrate Saratha,” DeRaj says. “Through the matching promises of two families, more than $60,000 in bursaries will be awarded to young women attending the school.”

To date, $16,000 has been donated to the fund, which will be matched by the DeRaj family until the first anniversary of Saratha’s death. Mike and Tina Jones of Jones & Co. Wine Merchants will be matching donations until summer 2026.

“I haven’t witnessed in recent times a named bursary that has gathered such a response as that. The donations are still coming in and coming from all over the world, because she made that much of a difference,” Klus says.

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Before she became a wife, mother and grandmother, before she grew into her roles as teacher, mentor and guide, Saratha was first and foremost a fearless adventurer.

She left home as a young woman, travelling alone on a journey that spanned thousands of kilometres across Asia, Europe and Africa in pursuit of a teaching career in Sierra Leone.

This was the early 1970s and hers was an extraordinary move for its time.

But Saratha was an extraordinary woman.

“She was very adventurous, my mom,” DeRaj says. “There’s a picture of her leaving Batticaloa on a train to Colombo where she would then get on a flight to Sierra Leone. It’s a very big moment and she’s kind of waving, full of hope. I thought it was a really great picture… great depiction of who she was: an adventurer.”

Whether she was navigating the unpredictability of life while raising a young family in West Africa or carving out her new one here in Winnipeg, Saratha met every challenge head on — she was not someone easily fazed.

“She collected connections and people, she helped people and people helped her and she had no fear. She really had a strong faith in God so she didn’t worry about things. She felt like, ‘I should go do this and everything will work out’ and it always did. She had no doubts at all. I was very proud… I was very proud of her,” DeRaj says.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca