Dr. V.K. Chawla, 77, of Greenwood died with his family by his side on Sunday, May 24, 2015 at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis after a brief illness.
A visitation service will be held at 9 am on Wednesday, May 27 at North Greenwood Baptist Church, followed by a one hour memorial service from 10 am to 11 am at North Greenwood Baptist Church. A religious ceremony followed by a cremation service will held afterwards in Canton, Mississippi. Dr. Chawla's ashes will then be flown to India.

Chawla is survived by his wife of 50 years, Chander Chawla of Greenwood. He is survived by his son, Dinesh Chawla of Cleveland, along with Dinesh's wife Parveen and Dr. Chawla's two grandchildren, Sameer and Nayan Chawla.

He is also survived by his son, Suresh Chawla of Greenwood, along with Suresh's wife Gauri and Dr. Chawla's two other grandchildren, Sunjay and Dia Chawla.

Dr. Chawla was born in India in 1938. After 9 years of life he suffered through the murder of his father and two brothers due to a religious war between Pakistan and India. He lived in a refugee camp with his family in Punjab, India for the next 9 years.

Dr. Chawla graduated from Punjab Agricultural University with his Masters Degree in Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Sciences in 1960. In 1963 he got his PHD from Griefswald University in Germany.

He married the former Chander Gupta in 1964. In 1965, after the birth of his first son Dinesh, he moved to Canada. He worked for the Canadian Government Environmental division, focusing on the Great Lakes. In 1977 he moved his family to Greenwood and opened Jackies Food Center.

He and his wife owned and operated Jackies Food Center and New Orleans Fried Chicken from 1977 to 1992. He had a special affinity with his children's fellow classmates at Greenwood High School. In 1989 he opened his first hotel, the former Comfort Inn of Greenwood. He would eventually own and operate 17 hotels in the Mississippi Delta, employing over 300 people.

Chawla was a known philanthropist in the Delta, focusing on giving money to teachers and students. In 2007, to celebrate 30 years in Greenwood, he gave $30,000 to teachers and students. He enjoyed working on the Education Committee of the Greenwood Leflore Chambers of Commerce, which he served on from 1977 until last year. He specifically enjoyed the New Teachers Reception and Excellence in Education ceremonies, where he would often give $100 bills away to those that answered questions at the receptions.

In 2007 he was honored by the State Senate for his contributions to Education and Economic Development in the Delta. In 2008 he was honored by the Greenwood Commonwealth for the Community Service Award. He won numerous other awards over the last few years, but he always felt most appreciative of these two.