Obituary of Victoria Margaret May Guvanasen

Victoria Margaret May Guvanasen peacefully passed away at her home on October 23, 2016 after a long and valiant fight with lung cancer. She was a devoted wife, a loving mother, and a true friend to many – she will sorely be missed by her family and by all of the lives she touched. Victoria was born in Gisborne, New Zealand on May 13, 1948, the only daughter of Edna and Norvel Keith Brown. She attended Avonside Girls’ High School and the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. She graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (chemical) with honors and became New Zealand's first female to hold a Master of Engineering. After graduation, she immigrated to Australia and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research from James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, where she met her husband, Dr. Varut Guvanasen. In 1980, she immigrated to North America and became a research scholar at the University of California, Berkeley and a research engineer at the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Laboratories in Manitoba, Canada. Later, after a brief hiatus in her career to raise her family, she worked in the private sector for a number of consulting firms. For the past 23 years, she served as a Senior Chemical Engineer for HydroGeoLogic, Inc., Reston, VA, working as a consultant for several federal government agencies, including the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Justice. She is survived by her beloved husband of 39 years, Dr. Varut Guvanasen, her son, Dr. Gareth Guvanasen, her brother and sister-in-law, Warwick and Maree Brown of Sydney, Australia, and her niece and nephew, Frances and Andrew Brown of Sydney, Australia. Memorial services will be held at Adams-Green Funeral Home, 721 Elden St, Herndon, VA 20170 on Thursday, November 3, 2016, at 2 pm. Following the funeral service, a reception will be held in Reston, VA to celebrate Victoria’s life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Cancer Research Institute (www.cancerresearch.org).