Chandru "Andrew" Nambiar died peacefully on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, surrounded by his loved ones at home in Torrance, California.

Chandru was born Pattanakandi Kariyadan Krishnan Chandrashekar Nambiar in Bangalore, India, to Krishnan and Ammu Nambiar. He was the second youngest of seven children.

After skipping several grades, Chandru graduated from high school at age 15, then attended St. Joseph’s College in Bangalore. A lifelong lover of the earth, he graduated at the age of 19 with a degree in Botany, Zoology, and Chemistry and a minor in Math. After university, Chandru worked first at Reckitt & Coleman and then at Hindustan Unilever, selling soap to villagers across all of India.

After Hindustan Unilever, Chandru joined Air India as an Assistant Flight Purser in 1977. During this time, Chandru met his future wife, Vinita D'Souza, a fellow flight attendant. The couple moved to the United States in 1983 and settled in New York, where Chandru worked for a jewelry tools and supplies company called Kassoy. While there, he leveraged his sales skills and technical knowledge to present barcoding solutions to giants such as Wal-Mart and Mikimoto.

In January of 1988, Chandru and Vinita married each other right after work, then headed down the street for Chinese food. Ten months later, the couple welcomed their first child, Jason. Their second child, Alyssa, was born four years later.

After a series of moves, Chandru and his family settled in Tampa, Florida in 1994. It was here that he welcomed his third baby: Tag-Tics Incorporated. He began providing labels, bar codes, and printer solutions to clients of all sizes and industries. Logistically, Chandru ran Tag-Tics as a one-man operation for 32 years, serving as the sales, tech support, accounting, and shipping departments.

Chandru, Vinita, and Jason moved to California in 2019 to join Alyssa, who had moved there in 2010 to attend Chandru’s dream school, UCLA. A few years after the move, in February of 2023, Chandru was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage I oropharyngeal cancer. After undergoing aggressive treatment, a PET scan in July 2023 revealed that he was in full remission.

He spent the next two years enjoying time with his family at their new home in Torrance, planting herbs and vegetables in the backyard, and playing with his beloved grand-dog-ter, Summer. In August 2025, his cancer unfortunately returned — and metastasized to his lungs. After a nine-month battle with the disease, Chandru died peacefully at home.

A lifelong believer in efficiency, Chandru always joked with his family and would tell them, "When I die, just throw me in the trash." Perhaps in the most fitting of ways, he passed away on Wednesday, April 29th, 2026: trash day.

The family would like to thank the entire staff at Torrance Memorial Hospital, and the Hunt Cancer Center, for their compassionate care and guidance through Chandru's cancer journey. In particular, Chandru received unmatched support from Dr. Andrew Schumacher, Dr. Swati Sikaria, Dr. Andrew Horodner, Dr. Nima Moghadam, Dr. David Kim, and nurses Kat, Greg, and Celeste.

In lieu of flowers, you can honor Chandru by:

• 1. Having a beer (Sam Adams, Fosters, Heineken, and Simple Times were his favorites) or a rum and Coke
• 2. Planting a vegetable, herb, or flower that's native to your area
• 3. Watching a game show (Jeopardy, The Chase, and The Wall were his favorites) or a cooking show (Beat Bobby Flay and Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives were his staples)
• 4. Making a plan to vote in your local elections (June 2nd for California!)