Feb.
9, 1926 - Jan. 13, 2010MISHAWAKA - Kusum Agtey, 83, of Mishawaka, passed away at 7:55 a.m. Wednesday in Saint Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Mishawaka. Kusum retired from JC Penney & Company after nine years of service. Kusum was born February 9, 1926, in Bilaspur, India, to the late Gopal and Kashi (Paonaskar) Shastri, and had lived in this area since 1993, coming from India. On March 24, 1949, in India, Kusum married Yeshwant Agtey, Air Marshal (retired) - Indian Air Force, who survives. Also surviving are two sons, Milind (Vidula) Agtey of Granger and Mihir (Helen) Agtey of South Bend; four grandchildren, Sunita (Rohit) Tendulkar and Sunjay Agtey of Chicago, IL, Vikas and Anand Agtey of South Bend; a great-granddaughter, Sonya Tendulkar; a sister, Sindhu Subhebdar, and a brother, Prabhakar Shastri, both of India. Kusum was the first woman glider pilot in India. She won many awards for acting on stage and was a newscaster for All India Radio. Kusum was a prolific writer and her latest article will be published on the 25th of January in an Indian magazine. Kusum received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Nagpur University in India. Friends may visit with the family from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. today in the Palmer Funeral Home - Hickey Chapel, 17131 Cleveland Road, South Bend, IN 46635. Funeral services will follow at Southlawn Cremation Services, 61300 U.S. 31 South, South Bend, IN 46614.