Dr. Vijaya Mangunta

Dr. Vijaya Kumar Mangunta, 58, of Columbia, Mo., died Tuesday, May 3, 2005, at University Hospital in Columbia.

He was born Sept. 10, 1946, in Nellore, India, son of Venkatramana Reddy and Padmareddy Kuppchhi Mangunta. He and Lakshmi Chada were married April 9, 1972, in Tirupati, India.

Mangunta lived in Cape Girardeau from 1978 to 1992, and was a physician at Saint Francis Medical Center. He had been an emergency room physician at Bothwell Regional Hospital in Sedalia, Mo., and had worked at Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall, Mo., since 1994. He also started Sedalia Cooperative Free Clinic.

He was a former member of the American Medical Association, and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Survivors include his wife; two children, Venkat Mangunta of Kansas City, Mo., Padmini Mangunta of New York, N.Y.; his mother; a brother, Sudhakar Mangunta; and a sister, Suchitra Mangunta, all of India.

He was preceded in death by his father.

Friends may call at Memorial Funeral Home in Columbia from 1 to 3 p.m. today.

A prayer service will be held at 3 p.m. today at the funeral home.