Padiath “Sunny” Aslam

BELGRADE and Tucson, Ariz. – We sadly announce the passing of Dr. Padiath “Sunny” Aslam in Tucson on March 15, 2026. Sunny was born on Feb. 12, 1938 in Kochi, India, to Dr. Padiath Mohammed Ali and Dr. M.K. Ayesha Ali.

He liked to tell the story of when he was in elementary school: He’d be dropped off at the front door and immediately walk through the back door to head home. This may have been the one time in his life when he eschewed education, for he continued to learn voraciously until the end.

In 1960, Sunny graduated from Madras Medical College. He then moved to Maryland, where he completed an internship at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore in 1963. He went on to complete a surgical residency at Mt. Sinai in New York City in 1967 and finally a surgical fellowship in thoracic surgery at the University of Tennessee in 1969.

To Sunny, medicine went far beyond an occupation. The Hippocratic Oath to do no harm was his guiding principle in life. His empathy was one of his strongest characteristics. He did everything he could to ease the pain of others – both medically and as a compassionate human being.

While in New York City, Sunny met his first wife Phyllis Diakow Aslam, with whom he had his beloved son Sharif Aslam. Upon moving to Maine in the ’70s, Sharif was diagnosed with autism and required significant support.

Sunny fought tirelessly to ensure Sharif received necessary services, as laws supporting Exceptional Children in Maine were just beginning to be implemented.

In 1977, Sunny had his second son, Sunny Jr., and three years later, his third son, Ali – both with LuAnne Aslam Cori née Duncklee. In 1987, through church, Sunny met his wife Dru King Aslam, with whom he had his fourth son, Jai.

Sunny’s sons were his pride and joy, and his grandchildren – Ayesha, Haya, Rama, and Amar – never failed to fill his heart with warmth and love.

During Sunny’s career, he worked at Augusta General/KVMC/MaineGeneral, including private practice as a member of the MASH group. He then taught medicine at the American University of Antigua and finished his surgical career at Rumford Community Hospital. In later years, he couldn’t stay away from medicine and conducted Medicare home visits. He maintained his medical licenses until the end of his life.

Outside of work, Sunny was a leader and devoted member of his community who was never afraid to speak up for what he thought was right. He wrote countless letters to the editor. He was also a member of the school board, where he urged the banning of smoking at high school sports events. He was president of the former All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Oakland, and volunteered for the soup kitchen at the UU church in Waterville. He was most recently a member of the Mountain Vista UU Congregation of Tucson.

After retiring from surgery, Sunny’s immense energy and zest for life was redirected. He enrolled in online biostatistics courses, jumped headfirst into gardening, and went on many a culinary adventure. He also taught an OLLI-UA class on healthy living and longevity, for which he drew on lessons from his medical career, 35 years of vegetarianism/veganism, and rigid exercise regimen. Many Belgrade residents may remember watching him bike down Route 27 and Route 135 in the early mornings, sometimes taking both hands off the handle bars, arms pumping, into his late 70’s.

His final years were not easy. He first dealt with and

overcame a pancreatic cancer diagnosis that he received five years ago. He then supported his wife, Dru, through breast cancer treatment. Lastly, he was diagnosed with and received radiation for prostate cancer. He handled these bumps in the road with his characteristic resilience, as well as by leaning on his family and community. Of particular importance to him through this time was a weekly online support group he helped found through the MVUU Congregation in Tucson.

He also greatly enjoyed participating in a Sunday morning non-fiction book group, a monthly poetry group, and the weekly meetings of a local neighborhood senior group, SCRCR. He had recently renewed old medical school friendships with monthly Zoom calls.

His favorite pastime during the last few years of his life was writing poetry. He wrote poems for big events, funny poems to make us laugh, and satirical ones to make us think. He also wrote serious poems: poems about a life well-lived, poems about the death of a child, and poems about processing grief. As we work through our own grief, we’ll try to take note from the lessons that he taught us.

Sunny was predeceased by his first wife, Phyllis, his son, Sharif Aslam, his parents, his brother, PA Saleem, and nephew, Arif Padiath.

He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Dru King Aslam, and his children, Sunny P. Aslam (Aprill Scruggs-Aslam), Ali P. Aslam, and Jai K. Aslam (Aneri Pattani). He is also survived by his grandchildren, Ayesha and Haya Aslam (and their mother Jess LeFebvre), Rama and Amar Aslam (and their mother Rebecca Marin) and step grandchildren Apriah Scruggs-Muhammad and Prince-Basir Muhammad. Sunny also leaves behind his brothers P.A. Zafar (Abusha Zafar), P.A. Salaam (Zahira Salaam), and nephews and nieces, Quasar, Samira, Tariq, Tasneen and Tahir. He is also survived by his dearest of friends, Shankar Maganti (Susan Maganti).

The family would like to thank Peter Guzzetti, DO, of Augusta, and Candice Bainey, M.D., of Tucson, Arizona, as well as his amazing medical teams at both the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General-Brigham in Boston for their care during the past several years.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Maine at a later date.

You were an immense force, Sunny/Dad/Papa. We love youand you’ll be forever missed.

Should you so de sire, donations in Sunny’s memory may be made to the Autism Society of Maine, whose mission was near and dear to his heart:

Autism Society of Maine

72 Main St Ste B

Winthrop ME 04364

ASMonline.org