Nataraj Sen died peacefully in Toronto on Friday October 16, 2026, at the age of 92.

Nataraj was born in Patna, Bihar, India, on January 17, 1934. He passed his matriculation in India and went on to college, where he became captain of the cricket team. He was a gifted athlete all his life and won championships in tennis and badminton. At 21 he left home to study engineering in Glasgow, Scotland. Leaving home that young showed the courage and curiosity that stayed with him all his life. He graduated as a Civil Engineer and went back to India. On September 29, 1962, he married Dipa Chaudhuri in Calcutta. Just two and a half weeks before he died, Nataraj and Dipa celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary together.

Nataraj served as Director of a national engineering firm in Calcutta. In 1969 he and Dipa moved to Canada, where he became Senior Manager of Planning and Design with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Over his career there he helped build some of the province’s best-known infrastructure, including Highway 403 and the Burlington Skyway, along with many other major projects that Ontarians still use every day.

His work went beyond engineering. While at the Ministry, he pushed for fair treatment of professional engineers in management roles. He argued that they deserved the same job security and pension benefits as their non-management colleagues, and that fight reflected his strong sense of fairness.

After retiring from the Ministry, Nataraj moved into the private sector and international consulting. He used his decades of highway experience to help modernize India’s road system to world-class standards, a fitting way to give back to the country where he was born.

When he finally retired from all professional work, he spent his last years helping the poor in India. He set up the Nataraj and Dipa Sen Endowment Fund at Toronto Foundation. Each year the fund sends a distribution to the Toronto Calcutta Foundation, which uses it to support the education and care of women and children living in poverty in West Bengal and to pay for cataract surgeries for people who could not otherwise afford them. Because of that fund, his generosity will keep changing lives for generations.

Nataraj will be remembered for his intellect, his competitive spirit and his deep sense of fairness. He is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Dipa Chaudhuri Sen; his son, Dr. Roger Sen, and daughter-in-law, Tatiana Murday Sen; his grandchildren, Tayah Sen and Sage Sen; and his step-grandchildren, Katie Murday and David Murday.

The funeral will be held in the Main Chapel of the Funeral Centre at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, on Friday, October 23, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. For those that cannot attend, a livestream will start broadcasting at 9:45 am. A private cremation attended by immediate family will follow. In keeping with his wishes, his ashes will be taken to Prayagraj, India.
The family welcomes donations to the Nataraj and Dipa Sen Endowment Fund at Toronto Foundation. https://torontofoundation.ca/nataraj-and-dipa-sen-endowment-fund