S.Thomas' College Gurutalawa

GALLERY OF EVENTS - Passing Away of Mr. K. Wimalarajah (Koli)

K. WIMALARAJAH (KOLI)

K. Wimalarajah who was at Guru from 1958 to 1964 is no more. It is reported that he had a fall, knocked his head on some hard surface, developed severe Headaches, went in to a Coma, did not recover and after a few days passed away. None of his friends from Guru were with him at that time. Having seen his Obituary Notice many Old Boys from Australia, the West Coast of USA, Canada and UK contacted us for more information, and expressed their feelings about his sudden demise.

We display below a few images from our archives where you see him during the period 2003- 2007 i.e the time he was involved with us in affairs of Guru, sometimes heavily and at other times in a light way.

We all knew him and referred to him fondly as Koli,( no doubt a nick name that stuck to him for almost 50 years in consequence of an escapade the nature of which is not too difficult to fathom).

He was in the College Hockey Team in 1963. A group photograph of the Team appears elsewhere also on this website under the caption Gallery of Events > “OLD IMAGES OF GURU”.

At the behest of Sarath Suraweera, Nihal Wanniarachchi, and Mahen Ranasinghe, Koli accepted the position of Farm Manager at Guru through the OBA in February 2003 and continued until March 2006.

The farm included chicken, both layers and broilers, and vegetables, mainly to cater to the needs of over 300 students and staff of the school, with the excess being sold outside.

Koli’s duties included purchasing all livestock, feed and material for the operation and maintenance of the farm and the sale of the products with overall management and proper accounting.

He was keen and conscientious and carried out his duties in a responsible and efficient manner. He always achieved the targets set by the school and the OBA.
He was a great asset to the school, as he taught English to students, in his spare time and whenever the need arose, in an honorary capacity. His ability to speak all three languages, Sinhala, Tamil and English was an added advantage and needless to say, it benefited both Sinhala and Tamil students.

He got on amicably with the other members of the staff and his subordinates and was always willing to share his knowledge and experience with others.

Perhaps Koli would be best known and mostly missed not only by his contemporaries at Guru but by those senior and even decades junior as the solitary nexus between Old Boys and the College. Many Old Boys on holiday in Sri Lanka from their foreign abodes, when visiting Guru found in Koli that connection which Mr.A C M Laffir effused with great acceptance, in a display of the strong bonding the latter had built up from the 1950’s to the early part of the new millennium until his retirement. Thus old boys visiting Guru were not made to feel as outsiders but as those who were paying a brief visit to their childhood home.

Sarath Suraweera
Nihal Wanniarachchi
Mahen Ranasinghe
Lakshman Jayatilaka

January 20, 2008