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Moreshwar V. Nadkarni, born in Thana, India, left for the U.S. in 1946 after receiving a scholarship from the Indian government to study pharmacology at the University of Iowa. As planned, he completed his master’s and doctorate degrees; however, his goal of returning to India was derailed when he met Goldie Hema Pechenuk, fell in love, and skipped the arranged marriage planned for him back in India. Goldie--a first-generation Russian from an orthodox Jewish family, Brooklyn native, and fluent speaker of Yiddish--also attended the University of Iowa, where she majored in romance languages. Moreshwar and Goldie soon married and spent close to 50 years together in Montgomery County, starting a large extended family that later included five children and eleven grandchildren.
Moreshwar V. Nadkarni, born in Thana, India, left for the U.S. in 1946 after receiving a scholarship from the Indian government to study pharmacology at the University of Iowa. As planned, he completed his master’s and doctorate degrees; however, his goal of returning to India was derailed when he met Goldie Hema Pechenuk, fell in love, and skipped the arranged marriage planned for him back in India. Goldie--a first-generation Russian from an orthodox Jewish family, Brooklyn native, and fluent speaker of Yiddish--also attended the University of Iowa, where she majored in romance languages. Moreshwar and Goldie soon married and spent close to 50 years together in Montgomery County, starting a large extended family that later included five children and eleven grandchildren.
Moreshwar and Goldie as young students, late 1940s
While at the University of Iowa, Moreshwar and Goldie took the same advanced German class which he needed for reading relevant research and she for her major’s required third language. Both joined the International Club where they met. Goldie was drawn to Moreshwar because she thought he looked like Clark Gable. Thinking he was Mexican, she began speaking to him in Spanish, and although he did not understand what she was saying, their relationship started on that day. The family joke is that Goldie had asked him, in Spanish, to marry her, and he had unknowingly said yes.
While at the University of Iowa, Moreshwar and Goldie took the same advanced German class which he needed for reading relevant research and she for her major’s required third language. Both joined the International Club where they met. Goldie was drawn to Moreshwar because she thought he looked like Clark Gable. Thinking he was Mexican, she began speaking to him in Spanish, and although he did not understand what she was saying, their relationship started on that day. The family joke is that Goldie had asked him, in Spanish, to marry her, and he had unknowingly said yes.
After completing their studies, they moved to Montgomery County in 1950 because Moreshwar had acquired a faculty position at George Washington University. Due to anti-miscegenation laws in Maryland, however, the couple had to marry in New York. When they returned to the county, it was difficult to find a place to live as they were considered a mixed-race couple. In Rockville, the Berlin Apartments (since demolished) was one of the only options for mixed-race couples, providing Goldie and Moreshwar a place to live until they bought their house on Grosvenor Lane in Bethesda.
After completing their studies, they moved to Montgomery County in 1950 because Moreshwar had acquired a faculty position at George Washington University. Due to anti-miscegenation laws in Maryland, however, the couple had to marry in New York. When they returned to the county, it was difficult to find a place to live as they were considered a mixed-race couple. In Rockville, the Berlin Apartments (since demolished) was one of the only options for mixed-race couples, providing Goldie and Moreshwar a place to live until they bought their house on Grosvenor Lane in Bethesda.
Their Bethesda home became a multicultural marvel where in December alone the family celebrated Hanukkah, Christmas, and Diwali; spoke English, Yiddish, and Marathi; served bat (rice) for meals sitting both on the floor and at the table; and made chai regularly. Moreshwar and Goldie were parents who valued education, family, multicultural appreciation, love, and hard work.
Their Bethesda home became a multicultural marvel where in December alone the family celebrated Hanukkah, Christmas, and Diwali; spoke English, Yiddish, and Marathi; served bat (rice) for meals sitting both on the floor and at the table; and made chai regularly. Moreshwar and Goldie were parents who valued education, family, multicultural appreciation, love, and hard work.
At left: The Nadkarni home at 5809 Grosvenor Lane
Below:
1 - Moreshwar and Goldie with baby Saroj
2 - The five Nadkarni children at the house on Grosvenor Lane
3 - Nalini Nadkarni, age seven. Today, she is a pioneering and celebrated tree ecologist.
Moreshwar and Goldie dancing at their 50th wedding anniversary
While Moreshwar spent most of his career at the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute advancing cancer research through investigation and administration, Goldie continued her passion for languages and taught English to adult immigrants who came to the area from all over the world. They encouraged their children (Saroj, Vinay, Susha, Nalini, and Mohan) to excel in school, celebrating straight A’s with trips to Gifford’s ice cream shop in Bethesda. The notable careers of their children underscore the high expectations and steadfast values of the Nadkarnis as parents, pioneers who looked beyond society’s racial categories and embraced multicultural appreciation.
While Moreshwar spent most of his career at the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute advancing cancer research through investigation and administration, Goldie continued her passion for languages and taught English to adult immigrants who came to the area from all over the world. They encouraged their children (Saroj, Vinay, Susha, Nalini, and Mohan) to excel in school, celebrating straight A’s with trips to Gifford’s ice cream shop in Bethesda. The notable careers of their children underscore the high expectations and steadfast values of the Nadkarnis as parents, pioneers who looked beyond society’s racial categories and embraced multicultural appreciation.
The Nadkarnis continue to celebrate racial, ethnic, and religious differences as they did early on when they showed the courage to live as a mixed-race couple, at a time when such a marriage was not readily accepted. Their family is a model of the beauty and strength of multiculturalism.
The Nadkarnis continue to celebrate racial, ethnic, and religious differences as they did early on when they showed the courage to live as a mixed-race couple, at a time when such a marriage was not readily accepted. Their family is a model of the beauty and strength of multiculturalism.
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