Ann Holt Rekhi passed away peacefully at her home on March 11 in Monte Sereno in the presence of her immediate family. She lived a remarkable life, was loved by many, and was a supporter of many causes.
Ann was born on Sept. 3, 1946 in Oakland, CA and moved soon after to the east coast where she spent her childhood and teenage years in Easton, CT. After graduating from Joel Barlow High School, she worked as a licensed vocational nurse at Bridgeport Hospital before serving in the US Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
She met her husband Kanwal Rekhi after they were randomly matched through a pen pal booth at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, and the two forged a strong bond over several years of consistent letter writing. Kanwal proposed days after meeting her in person, and after the initial shock passed and she had time to carefully consider, she accepted. The two wed in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in early 1971 and drove across the country to California later that year. They initially settled in Sunnyvale, where she worked as a veterinarian’s assistant and then as chip fabricator at National Semiconductor. She raised her two children in San Jose and Los Gatos and has lived in California ever since.
Ann was a lover of animals, a member of the church choir, an avid reader, and a longtime supporter of causes including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Peninsula Open Space Trust, Second Harvest and many others. She is survived by her devoted husband Kanwal, her brother Mark Holt and sister Janet Holt, her children Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill and Ben Rekhi, and her granddaughter Rumi.
There will be a celebration of life event at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, CA on March 19 at 5:30 p.m. If anyone would like to contact Ann’s relatives to send a note to be read at her memorial services, please email her brother Mark Holt: markeholt@gmail.com
