Vijay K. Sethi

Vijay K. Sethi, 68, Moorhead, MN, died on Tuesday, August 27, 2013, in Sanford Health, Fargo, ND.
Vijay K. Sethi was born on June 1, 1945, in Balaghat, Madyha Pradesh, India, to Vidya and Bimla Sawhney Sethi. He grew up and attended school in central India, and went to college in Delhi where he earned his degree in Architecture. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1970 and worked as an architect in St. Paul, MN. He earned his Master’s Degree in Architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL. Vijay married Mary Clare Walsh on December 29, 1973, in Minneapolis, MN. He returned to the University of Illinois and earned a second Master’s Degree in Urban Planning.
They moved to Moorhead, MN, in 1975 and he became a planner for the Fargo-Moorhead Metro Council of Governments, he was appointed to be the director and spent several years there before becoming the County Administrator for Clay County, Minnesota, where he spent twenty five years, retiring in 2010. He became a naturalized citizen of U.S. and never missed voting in an election.
In retirement, Vijay took on consulting jobs, serving as the interim CEO of the regional Red Cross Chapter in Fargo and then in Worthington, MN, as the interim County Administrator of Nobles County, Minnesota. He became fully retired in March.
Vijay was a true public servant, with the emphasis on servant. He saw himself as a steward of the people’s resources and valued the trust that was placed in him. He also was always concerned for his colleagues and felt a high level of responsibility to them and for them. He held himself and others to a very high standard. He loved being with people.
Vijay is survived by his wife Mary Clare Sethi, Moorhead, MN; son Arjun Jenna Sethi, Roseville, MN; daughter Kiran David Tesch, Fargo, ND; one brother Surendra Sethi, Anoka, MN; three sisters Kusum Chopra, Mumbai, India, Prem Mohindra Batra, Delhi, India, and Swaran Mohindra Loomba, Delhi, India; two grandchildren Sophie and Micah.
Visitation: Monday, September 2, 2013, from 5:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M., in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Moorhead, MN.
Funeral: Tuesday, September 3, 2013, at 10:30 A.M., in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Moorhead.