Dr. Harish C. Minocha

Dr. Harish C. Minocha, a distinguished veterinary virologist, educator, researcher, mentor, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and man of deep faith, departed this world on August 30, 2026.

“Fill my life with song…”
— “Fly Me to the Moon”, Frank Sinatra

Harish was born on August 31, 1932, in Shahpur, in the Punjab region of India, where he developed an early love of music that remained with him throughout his life.

He received his Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree from Punjab University in 1955 and began his professional life working on bovine and equine diseases. In 1961, he came to Kansas State University, where he earned a master’s degree in microbiology and a doctorate in virology. After beginning his academic career at North Carolina State University, he returned to Kansas State in 1970, beginning a relationship with the university that would shape much of his professional and personal life.

At the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Minocha built a long and distinguished career as a researcher, teacher, mentor, and academic leader. His research focused primarily on respiratory diseases of cattle, bovine immunodeficiency viruses, and influenza virus, and was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the USDA. He became widely respected for his work in veterinary virology and for the energy and curiosity he brought to the field.

Teaching and mentorship were every bit as important to him as research. He taught Veterinary Virology to DVM students and Advanced Virology to graduate students and served as the major adviser to 32 graduate students who earned master’s or Ph.D. degrees. He took great pride in his students and in seeing them build meaningful careers of their own.

His work earned him numerous honors, including the Beecham Award for Excellence in Research and election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. In 2018, the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine honored him with the E.R. Frank Award in recognition of his distinguished career and service to the College.

From 1989 to 1997, Dr. Minocha served as the first Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Affairs of the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine before returning to full-time teaching and research. He retired in 2003, but retirement never meant stepping away from the place he loved. He continued to return to Kansas State for seminars and university functions because he genuinely enjoyed learning and staying connected to the academic community. His curiosity and love of learning remained with him throughout his life.

Education and opportunity were especially important to him. Together with his wife, Ved, they funded the Dr. Bishan Das and Ram Bai Minocha Scholarship in Veterinary Medicine, named in honor of his parents. His influence as a mentor was also recognized through the establishment of the Dr. Harish C. and Ved K. Minocha Scholarship to support graduate students in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Yet those who knew him best will remember far more than his professional accomplishments.

To his four children, he was simply Papa.

He approached life with remarkable optimism, warmth, and a joyful spirit. He loved music and loved to sing, and he rarely missed an opportunity to share a song. Whether at an awards ceremony, during a wedding speech, at a gathering of family and friends, or simply while walking around the track at the Kansas State Recreation Complex, singing was a joyful and unmistakable part of who he was.

His musical tastes ranged from Indian music, bhajans, and shabads to the classic songs of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. He had a wonderful ability to turn almost any occasion into an impromptu performance, and his singing became such a familiar part of his personality that K-State later remembered him as legendary for serenading a crowd.

His faith was an important and enduring part of his life. He loved to pray and treasured opportunities to pray and sing bhajans and shabads with family and friends. He was honored with Saropaa for his services by reciting Shabad Kirtan at Gurudwara over the years.

His faith, devotion to family, commitment to education, and desire to serve others remained constants throughout his life.

Above all, he cherished his family. He shared 71 remarkable years of marriage with his beloved wife, Ved. Their deep love and devotion to one another were at the heart of their family and remained a constant throughout their life together. He is survived by his four children, Meena (Vijay), Hans (Kiran), Nick (Mikki), and Punam (Nirav); his 11 grandchildren; and his two great-grandchildren.

His family will remember his unmistakable voice, his songs, his faith, his curiosity, his relentless optimism, and the cheerful spirit he brought to everyday life. They will cherish the big moments as well as the small traditions that made him so uniquely himself: his famous pancake breakfasts, his enthusiastic cheering, and the annual birthday serenade phone calls that became treasured family memories.

Dr. Harish C. Minocha devoted his life to learning, teaching, discovery, service, and family. His professional legacy lives on through the students he taught and mentored and the field he helped advance, while his personal legacy lives on through the family, friends, colleagues, and generations who will carry his memory forward.

Family and friends are invited to attend the funeral service on September 11, 2026 at 1 p.m. at The Amos Family Funeral Home & Crematory located at 10901 Johnson Dr., Shawnee, KS 66203. Langar will follow at Midwest Sikh Gurudwara located at 10050 Marion St, Lenexa, KS 66220.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial contributions to either of the following scholarship funds at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine:

Dr. Harish C. and Ved K. Minocha Scholarship — Fund V79565
Dr. Bishan Das and Ram Bai Minocha Scholarship in Veterinary Medicine — Fund V93858

Donations may be made online through the KSU Foundation at http://ksufoundation.org. Checks may also be made payable to the KSU Foundation, with the desired scholarship fund name and fund number indicated, and mailed to:

KSU Foundation
1800 Kimball Ave., Suite 200
Manhattan, KS 66502