Sunil’s departure has created a void that can never be filled

Sunil Ananda Wijeratne

Wijeratne Walauwa

Three years have passed, since Sunil’s departure. It has created a void that can never be filled though, and his memory lives in many hearts and minds. Sunil Appo as many called him has left an impressive record of work in two countries he lived in. For Switzerland was his adopted country and his native Sri Lanka, as he held dual citizenship he served both countries exceeding well. He served Switzerland as an
administrator in the Computer Department of a leading finance company in Zurich, and raised a family with two highly qualified sons, Norman and Runil Wijeratne who continue to serve Switzerland productively. He was also blessed with loving grandchildren brought by two daughters-in-law who are Swiss citizens. Sunil was an exemplary dual citizen born to care and serve others he had come to associate with in his life. However, his best came forth in Sri Lanka where you settled in following your retirement.

In Sri Lanka he took over the grand old Wijeratne Walawwa and maintained it in topping condition, spending his foreign savings to restore his family home to its former glory. I worked with him in this respect, and also worked to get the sacred Bo Maluwa found on the Walawwa premises recognized and protected as a heritage site. This Bo Maluwa has been created with a sapling from the Shree Maha Bodhi, which was planted by our grandparents.
Sunil extended his development efforts beyond his ancestral home to his community, where he supplied new school furniture to the village school in Emetiyagoda and renovated the school shrine. To date the children of this school, learn in a comfortable space due to these development projects. He also upgraded the temple living quarters for the monks in memory of his late Swiss wife.

Thereafter, he settled in a comfortable town house in Rajagiriya, while making frequent trips to Emetiyagoda. Both these homes stand as edifices to Sunil’s taste and worthy efforts respecting the ancestry and providing for his kith and kin. He is sorely missed by all who knew him and his memory lived on in the hearts and minds of everyone he touched.

Sunil Appo as many called him has left an impressive record of work in two countries he lived in. For Switzerland was his adopted country and his native Sri Lanka

On a personal note, let me end this memorial note with a line from a beautiful Sinhala verse:
Vanathare na sapumal nin anthare pepee yan Sunil Appo ta.

Translation in English:
Let Na and Sapu Trees in the forest be forever in bloom for Sunil.
May his next life be happy and trouble free.
Your cousin,
Prof. Bernard Dissanayake.