Thakorbhai Mohanbhai Desai

Thakorbhai Mohanbhai Desai died peacefully on Thursday, January 29 in Atlanta, GA surrounded by family and friends.

Thakor was born on April 3, 1936 in Bhagod, Gujarat to Mohanbhai and Mani Desai. He was the youngest of 10 siblings.

At school, he was both academically gifted and highly athletic, garnering many achievements in cricket.

He married Ramila Desai, a neighborhood acquaintance, in 1963 and had three children: Yatrik, Shreya, and Sneha. In order to make a better life for his family, he sacrificed time with them to come to the United States in 1967 to study at Indiana University. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, and went on to a successful career in engineering, including certifying as an environmental engineer.

Ramila and the family joined him in 1971, and together, they raised three children and became pillars of the Indian community in Greer, South Carolina.

They, along with other families, were part of the first generation of Indian immigrants in South Carolina and supported the India Association to preserve their cultural and religious practices. Later, the Association founded the Vedic Center in Greenville, of which Thakor became President in 1997. He was very involved in the local community, becoming a local entrepreneur, teaching yoga at the local YWCA, playing tambourine with traveling Indian religious musicians, and steering the Greenville Cricket Club.

He was beloved and became known as “Mama” by his Indian community (and “Tom” by his non-Indian community). He was known for his curiosity and deep-seated friendliness, and you could often find him chatting with the grocery store cashier or the bank teller for hours. He was hilarious and enjoyed puns and pranks. He loved children, especially his own, and all animals, especially cats.

He is survived by his wife, Ramila; his children, Yatrik, Shreya, and Sneha; his daughter-in-law, Pragnya; his son-in-law, Dipak; and his grandchildren Rohan, Sonam, and Om, nieces and nephews all over the world, as well as many other family and friends, and, in the last weeks of his life, his cat, Kamu.