Mrs. Sushila Patadiya Parekh, age 83, of Houston Texas, passed away Saturday May 14, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
She was born in March 1939 in Morvi, Gujarat, India, a daughter of the late Maganlal Kalidis Patadiya and Kankuben Patadiya.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by three sisters, one brother, four brothers-in-law and two sisters-in-law.
Sushila is survived by her husband, Kantilal Parekh, 87, to whom she was married for 65 years, children Mukesh Parekh and Neela Makwana, daughter-in-law Jennifer Stewart and son-in-law Himanshu Makwana, and grandson Neal Makwana.
Sushila was a devoted wife, mother, mother-in-law, sister and grandmother. She traveled from India to Kuwait with Kantilal upon marrying, where they built a life and business together from scratch while educating their children at the Indian School Kuwait. This was important to her particularly since she hadn’t been able finish high school as a girl in Morvi.
She had a strong faith and adhered to Hindu Vaishnav practices in her daily life come rain or shine. She never missed an opportunity to be a giving soul, always ready to pray and sacrifice for the benefit and happiness of others.
Sushila was pleased to also be able to build a home and community later in Mumbai India and with her children in New York City, Hattiesburg (Mississippi), and Houston, with spells in Newport Beach (California). In each place, she found a way into the hearts of others in these new communities.
She enriched the lives of family and friends with her passion for living a life full of curiosity, mischief, and industriousness with an ever present twinkle in her eye. She loved cooking and gained even more joy from breaking bread together with loved ones. There was not a project she couldn’t tackle and particularly enjoyed making ingenious arts and crafts from unexpected materials. She also didn’t mind spending a day at the nickel slots, seeming to always come out ahead. Her prized possession was her mini iPad and she also was very proud of her high Candy Crush scores. But most of all she cherished every minute she had with her grandson Neal.
Her family is forever grateful for the strong moral values, frameworks and example she provided for living a happy and fulfilling life.
She is and will forever be deeply missed and remembered.