Jerusha Gomes - Obituary

LEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW SASHA'S VIDEO TRIBUTE Please Click Here to add photos to her website On Monday, December 3, 2007 departed this life despite the heroic efforts of the Georgetown University Hospital staff. She is survived by her son Julian, her parents Drs. Stella and Raymond Pla, and Dr. Ralph Gomes; four brothers R. Christopher Gomes, Jr., R. Alexander Gomes, Dr. Raymond Pla, Jr., Richard Samad; grandparents Mrs. H. Rahim and Mr. Stephen A. Pla, Sr.; aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of other relatives and friends. Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Friday, December 7 at 12:00 noon at ST. COLUMBA CATHOLIC CHURCH, 7804 Livingston Road, Oxon Hill, MD. Prayers and visitation at the KALAS LIFE CELEBRATION HOME, 6160 Oxon Hill Road, Oxon Hill, MD. on Saturday, December 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The burial procession and interment will take place immediately following the visitation at RESURRECTION CEMETERY, 8000 Woodyard Road, Clinton, MD. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to the Sasha Gomes Scholarship, c/o St. Columba Catholic School, 7800 Livingston Rd., Oxon Hill, Md 20745. Please sign the online guestbook at: www.KalasFuneralHomes.com JERUSHA ANN GOMES was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 16, 1969 to Dr. Stella Sookdeo Pla and Dr. Ralph C. Gomes. She departed this life on December 3, 2007 at Georgetown University Hospital after a courageous struggle with a congenital defect in her external carotid artery called an AVM. Jerusha, who was affectionately called “Sasha” by her family and friends, lived in the Metropolitan Washington area for most of her life. When she finished high school, where senior year was spent at Howard University as a HI-SCIP student, she went to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts where she earned a B.A. in Psychology and Pre-Med Studies. She later went on to obtain an MBA in Finance from Howard University's School of Business. During her studies, she held internships for the Xerox Corporation in Rochester, NY and for the White House under the Clinton Administration. Upon graduating, she worked as a financial analyst for IBM in White Plains, NY and later for Disney in Orlando, Florida as a senior financial analyst. She returned to the area with her son Julian when her marriage ended and lived with her mother and stepfather, Dr. and Mrs. Raymond Pla in Fort Washington, MD. Sasha was a soulful and spiritual person. She loved hip-hop, jazz and gospel music. She was extremely intelligent and many people found this overpowering. She dealt with this through humor by being a practical joker and an extremely giving person. She had a penchant for arguing over articles on the op-ed page of the Washington Post and the Redskins. She had a sunny disposition, and made friends easily. She was a voracious reader, an avid diarist and short story writer. She enjoyed traveling around the world and took many trips and expeditions with her mother and grandmother visiting the Far East, North Africa and the Middle East, Canada and Mexico. Sasha was a devoted mother to her young son Julian (age 6) for whom she sacrificed much and worked hard as a single parent to keep him engaged in soccer, violin lessons, in Catholic education at St. Columba and to instill in him the importance of God in his life. She was a very loving and involved parent. In addition to her son, Julian, Sasha is survived by her parents, Dr. Stella Sookdeo Pla & Dr. Raymond A. Pla, and Dr. Ralph C. Gomes, by her four brothers, R. Christopher Gomes, Jr., R. Alexander Gomes, Dr. Raymond A. Pla, Jr., Richard Samad, by her grand-parents, Mrs. Haleema Rahim and Mr. Stephen Pla, Sr., and by aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and a host of other family and friends. Sasha will be remembered for her intensity and giving ways. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her, but her love of family and her devotion to doing God's work will linger. http://videos.lifetributes.com/5522