OBITUARY:   SULTAN AHAMED, MD FACS MBA

Sultan “Sully” Ahamed (1943-2026) loving husband of Ann (Murphy), father of Chandra Sarene and her husband Juan Grisanty and grandfather of Nora Mae passed away peacefully on August 27^th 2026. He was born in the present State of Tamil Nadu in South India in a loving well to do family with servants. He was tutored in English as early as at the age of four and went on to college and medical school at University of Madras graduating at age twenty-three. Immediately following that he did his residency in pathology and surgery at JIPMER in Pondicherry, India which was a French territory.

He would recall fondly of his childhood and undergraduate and postgraduate days in India, biking to   USIS library in Madras to read and take books home, learn French and its culture in Pondicherry. He loved history and philosophy and comparative religion. He was an Anglophile and a Francophile to the core. And was a student of American history, literature and its idealism.

In 1969 he immigrated to the USA to take up surgical residency at Yale. Those four years in New Haven were filled with learning, fun and most happy days when he met Ann Murphy who was a nurse in medical-surgical floor, and they married in 1973 and developed long lasting friendships. He was loved and invited to their homes by the Murphys and by the extended Irish families in Hamden and he became so well versed in Irish culture, literature and drama. He and his wife travelled many times to Ireland! He brought all his siblings as immigrants to this great country and was proud of all his nephews and nieces in their respective professions of dentistry, medicine, accounting, finance and others.

In 1973 Ann and Sully moved to Norwich and he practiced general and vascular surgery at the Backus hospital. He was an excellent surgeon and had a busy practice providing compassionate care to innumerable families in eastern Connecticut and even southern Rhode Island. He passed his Surgical Boards and became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

At the hospital he served in many positions including Chief of Surgery, President of the Medical Staff and on the Hospital Board. He did some of the earliest surgeries at Backus including that of laparoscopic, endocrine, head and neck, pancreas, dialysis and vascular!

He served the community in many ways. He was in professional education at American Cancer Society, advisor to New London County Ostomy Association, Connecticut Governors committee for transferring Phelps radiation center at Uncas on Thames hospital to the community hospitals of Lawrence and Memorial in New London and Backus in Norwich. He was one of the largest benefactors of Backus radiation center which is named after him. He once served on the board of Gardner Lake Authority.

In organized medicine his contributions were immense. He served as President of the New London County Medical Association and later in various capacities at the state medical society serving as President of the prestigious Connecticut State Medical Society at its Second Centenary celebration! He was an alternate delegate to the American Medical Association. His crowning achievement in helping the health care profession came when there was a malpractice crisis in the eighties, and he was actively involved in creating Connecticut Medical Insurance Company in 1984 (now it is renamed Integris). He served as President and Chairman of the company for more than two decades before his retirement. He was also a Board member of the international organization of medical liability companies Professional Insurance Association of America (now called MPLI) serving as its President. During the time of his involvement in business he went back to school and obtained an MBA from the University of Hartford!

He served on many nonprofit and educational Boards including Professional Review Organizations, Connecticut United for Research Excellence (CURE), New London Magnet High School for Science and Technology and on the Board of St. Michaels College in Colchester, Vermont.

He felt strongly about philanthropy. He built a school in India serving grades one to ten, rebuilt the deep-water pump for the students in the high school where he went in India. A small private foundation was established in Mystic and a scholarship in the name of Ann was established at the Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, CT.

He was passionate about operas, having had box seats at the MET for more than thirty-five seasons. He enjoyed biking and skiing with his family and friends in New England, the Rockies and Europe. He was an avid traveler, having visited many countries on different continents.     

He was eternally indebted to his lovely wife. He was proud of his daughter, granddaughter, and son-in-law Juan’s accomplishments. The love of his family is beyond description, whether going skiing, travelling or going to operas and museums or simply hanging around with family and friends. His awards are too many to enumerate but he would like to be remembered as an excellent husband, father and grandfather and a humble servant of his patients and medical profession.

The funeral services will be private. A celebration of life will be held on September 13 at Little Neck at Great Neck Country Club.